


Fractures

by protestations



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Kisara Deserved Better, Post-Ceremonial Duel, Screw Destiny, Time Shenanigans, Yami Yuugi | Atem Has His Own Body, Yami no Game | Shadow Game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:07:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 45,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23598838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protestations/pseuds/protestations
Summary: Destiny is a complicated mistress, one that Mutou Yuugi and Kaiba Seto both know very well.  But when both of them begin hearing whispers in the night, neither of them know what to do except listen.... and chase down old ghosts to reveal new enemies.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14





	1. GHOSTS.

**CHAPTER ONE: GHOSTS.**

“In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves.”

Laurie Halse Anderson.

* * *

The night before, a massive electrical storm had cut power to roughly ninety-nine percent of Domino City. No one knew where it had come from; it was well past storm season, and the sudden downpour and crackling of energy wasn’t customary for the time. But nobody seemed to care about that, now… mostly because the electrical systems in the majority of the city’s most important buildings were now fried. 

Thankfully, Kaiba Corporations’ backup generator system had immediately kicked into overdrive the moment the company’s lights went dark. Kaiba Corporation was the only building within miles that had lights on, something that Seto was keenly aware of as he stood in his office at four in the morning, staring out into the city trying to process what he needed to do first.

It was hard to focus, even with the constant buzzing of the list of things he needed to accomplish rattling around his head… because Seto had not slept well, the night before. It wasn’t necessarily unusual, for Kaiba Seto to not sleep. Nightmares were commonplace, and the anxious need to constantly be productive haunted his dreams. But, for some reason, last night, something had plagued him that had not in nearly six months.

A voice that Seto hadn’t heard since he had been trapped in Khemet.

“Seto-sama, you have a phone call on—”

“Tell Mayor Sayako I’m already working on it,” Seto said absently, annoyed (irrationally so) with Isono interrupting his train of thought—he needed to direct any generators he did not need to the places that needed the most assistance… the hospitals, the elderly homes. His assembly line had shifted from making duel disks to portable generators to deliver as expeditiously as possible, but that took time. “Has the backup generator been delivered to Domino Hospital yet?” Seto asked after a moment, glancing over his shoulder at Isono, who looked up from his phone to meet his eyes. “That should be the first priority.”

“Ah – I believe it is on the way, but I can check.” But Isono’s tone sounded uncharacteristically distracted, and Seto’s eyes narrowed as he turned to face his right hand a bit more fully. It took a few seconds, but Isono quickly realized that Seto was staring at him, and he hesitated before lowering his phone. “What is it?”

“You didn’t argue with me about taking the mayor’s call.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. “Why?”

“It’s . . .” The slight pause, the hesitation, told Seto all he needed to know that whoever had called him was not Mayor Sayako. “It’s nothing to concern yourself with, Seto-sama, I will have it taken care of.”

“Isono.” The simple word signaled a preparation for battle, and Isono sighed, signaling to Seto that Seto had already won. “Who is on the line?”

“Mutou Yuugi.” 

Isono’s tone was resigned, but as he kept talking, Seto stopped listening.

It had been six months, since the Ceremonial Duel. Six months, since Atem had passed on into the afterlife. And, six months, since Kaiba Seto had spoken to Mutou Yuugi. In fact, the only individual Seto had spoken to within those six months that had any real idea of what any of them had been through had been Isis Ishtar… who encouraged him to speak to Yuugi, but Seto had refused.

He needed time. How much time, Seto had no idea. But Mokuba had been in contact with Yuugi and the rest, and had given him tiny pieces of information that indicated that they were all doing fine. Moving on, living their lives. Something Kaiba Seto seemed incapable of doing, which infuriated him.

“Seto-sama?” Isono’s voice snapped him out of his reverie, and Seto looked toward him, his expression cold and reserved. “Do you want to speak to Mutou-san, or do you want me to tell him now is not a good time?”

“What does he want?” Seto asked, turning back toward the window to look out at the darkened Domino City, crossing his arms over his chest. “If it’s to turn the power on at the Game Shop, it can wait. I have bigger things to deal with.”

“He only requested to speak with you.” Isono paused, and Seto could feel the hesitation permeating the air. There was something that Isono didn’t want to tell him, but Seto waited. Isono would eventually spit it out without much more prodding from Seto. “He said that you would understand.”

There was a lengthy pause before Seto exhaled slowly and, without turning around:

“Put the call through.”

* * *

“Mutou-san, I am going to put the call through to Seto-sama.”

The words sent a sudden rush of relief through Yuugi’s sytem, and he exhaled abruptly as he fiddled with the candle that he had lit in his bedroom, to try and get some semblance of light. It was only sort-of working, but it was enough to be able to make his way around the room. “Thank you, Isono-san, and – I’m sorry, for calling, I know he probably doesn’t want to talk to me, but—”

“Correct,” came a familiar voice, quiet and curt through the phone line—and even thought the tone of voice was left much to be desired, Yuugi couldn’t help but grin. “I don’t want to talk to you. What do you want, Yuugi?”

“Kaiba-kun.” Yuugi’s tone was warm, despite the circumstances, and he could almost envision the roll of Seto’s eyes at the useless sentimentality. “It’s nice to hear from you, are you—”

“I asked you a question,” Seto interrupted, his tone cold. “Answer it. I’m busy.”

 _At least some things don’t change_ , Yuugi thought to himself before sinking down onto his bed, exhaling slowly. He had no idea, truthfully, why he decided to call Kaiba, with this. Jounouchi would have been the smarter choice, or Anzu, or Honda… but he knew that Kaiba would understand, in a way that the others wouldn’t.

“I had a dream last night, during the storm.” Yuugi’s voice was quiet, his eyes shifting toward the window in his bedroom. “I was in Domino City. I was at the pier… the same place that I dueled Jounouchi, in Battle City. And—”

But Yuugi was interrupted with a frustrated scoff, and it didn’t take long for Kaiba to begin to lose his temper. “The entire city is out of power, I have _sixteen_ city officials breathing down my neck about my company’s ability to put them all online, and you called me to discuss a dream over your stray dog’s—”

“I heard his voice, Kaiba-kun,” Yuugi interrupted quietly.

Yuugi had expected… something. Kaiba dismissing his concerns, a wry quip, or even being hung up on for wasting his time. Maybe even a question about who he was. But, instead, there was… silence. The line was still connected, but Kaiba Seto – for, perhaps, the first time since Yuugi had known him – was not saying a single word.

Atem was a sensitive subject ( _at best_ ) with Kaiba Seto. Yuugi would never truly understand the relationship the two of them had had. They understood each other in a bizarre way, and were two halves of the same coin in a way that Yuugi and Atem weren’t. And though Kaiba would never admit it, Yuugi knew that Atem’s absence had created a hole in Kaiba Seto’s life that Yuugi could not fill.

Which, Yuugi thought to himself, was probably the reason Kaiba Seto had not bothered to return any of his calls for six months, but it was too late to regret his decision to call him now.

“It sounded… real,” Yuugi continued, his tone… tentative, at best. For some reason, Kaiba not saying anything at all was worse than the tongue-lashing Yuugi had expected. “He told me to meet him at the docks.”

“Why are you calling me with this, Yuugi?” The question surprised Yuugi, a little, but he held his tongue as Seto continued. “You have friends who would be more than happy to go on some stupid adventure to the pier with you. Why me?”

“Because he told me to call you,” Yuugi responded tiredly, rubbing his face with his spare hand, knowing exactly how stupid this sounded. “He said that you would know why.”

There was another silence, before Yuugi heard a faint rustling sound. It sounded as if Seto had put down the phone, and he could hear a muffled sound – words that Yuugi could not make out, but soon enough, Seto’s voice came back into crystal clarity. 

“Ten minutes, Yuugi.” 

And, before Yuugi could respond, the phone connection terminated.

* * *

The car ride was the most uncomfortable that Yuugi could remember in recent history.

Isono was driving, which was unusual. He had greeted Yuugi with a faint smile upon pulling up to the Game Shop, and opened the door to allow Yuugi to slide into the backseat next to Kaiba Seto, who had not said a single word since the car pulled away. 

_Was he seriously going to just sit there and not say anything?_ Yuugi wondered, almost incredulous as he shifted to look at Seto, who was staring out of the window with his arms crossed over his chest. He had not seen Seto since the Ceremonial Duel… and the teenager looked much the same. Cold, reserved. His legs were crossed, and he was dressed in his typical long coat and slacks.

If Yuugi didn’t know better, he would say they were on their way to a convention… or to their certain death. It was hard to say, when Kaiba Seto and Mutou Yuugi did anything together, which it would be.

“Why did mou hitori no boku tell me you would know why?” Yuugi asked, breaking the silence with the question that he knew Seto wouldn’t want to answer. Judging from the sudden clenching of his jaw, Yuugi knew he was correct… but he pressed on, nonetheless. “There’s a reason, isn’t there?”

There was a long pause before Seto sighed, shifting in his seat slightly, pursing his lips before glancing toward Yuugi. “I had a dream last night. Not at the pier.” There was another pause before Seto returned to looking out the window, though Yuugi noticed his fingers dug into his forearms the slightest bit as he began to talk. “It was in Egypt. With her.”

“Who?” Yuugi asked, his brow furrowing slightly in confusion. “Isis?”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Seto murmured, but there was none of the usual venom in his tone associated with the phrase. Still, he seemed to be reluctant to actually answer the question, and forged forward without doing so… at least, not directly. “She was trying to warn me. To tell me something.”

 _Who else could it be, except Isis?_ Yuugi wondered to himself, watching Seto carefully as he returned to staring out of the window in silence. _Who else could have been trying to warn Kaiba-kun about_ –

“The Blue Eyes White Dragon,” Yuugi said suddenly, straightening up to stare at Seto with a sudden purpose. “The woman with the dragon, is she—”

“ _Kisara_.” The interruption was cold, and Seto turned to stare at Yuugi sharply. A sudden defensiveness or protectiveness that Yuugi hadn’t seen in him before. “Her name was Kisara,” Seto continued, shifting in his seat to stare straight ahead, now, rather than the window. “And what she said, or did, or wanted to tell me is irrelevant. It was nothing but a dream. I’ve had them for years.”

“But Atem—”

“I am only entertaining your delusions of grandeur because I owe you something, Yuugi,” Seto interrupted, and by the tone of his voice, Yuugi knew that the conversation was long since over. “We are going to go to the pier, and there will be nothing there, because they’re both dead.”

The words stung Yuugi into silence, because deep down, he knew that Seto was correct. It was just a bizarre dream… and it certainly hadn’t been the first time since Atem left that Yuugi had dreamed about conversations with him. He knew that it would take time… to grieve, to process, to move on. But last night had felt remarkably… _real_. And if Kaiba Seto, of all people, was willing to entertain his so-called delusion of grandeur, then there had to be something to it.

“It’s good to see you, Kaiba-kun,” Yuugi said finally, shifting to rest his chin in the palm of his hand as he looked out of his own window. “I’m glad you’re doing well. We were worried about you.”

“Spare your worries for someone who needs them,” came the scoffed response, but Yuugi knew Kaiba Seto well enough to know that he was only putting minimal effort into his dismissive attitude. “I didn’t lose anything of consequence.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Yuugi murmured, too tired to put up an argument of principle with someone who was far stubborner than he was. “You’re always fine.”

“So old dogs _do_ learn new tricks.” But before Yuugi could respond, Seto continued with a crisp, “Pull in there, Isono. We can walk the rest of the way.”

The car rolled to a stop, and both duelists got out of the car. Yuugi squinted slightly, holding up a hand to shield his eyes from the rising sun as he scoped out the surroundings. The pier was empty and the lights were out… a product of the electrical storm last night, Yuugi assumed. Seto soon moved to stand next to him, straightening the sleeves of his coat as he stared forward.

For close to two minutes, the two stood in silence.

“Have you been back here, since Battle City?” Yuugi asked, breaking the silence.

“No.” Seto proceeded to walk forward, and Yuugi quickly moved to keep up with the much taller teenager. His fellow duelist slid his hands into the pockets of his coat as he walked, his gaze flickering from left to right, taking in his surroundings. “I haven’t seen the need.”

“Neither have I,” Yuugi murmured, putting his own hands into his pocket, his fingers instinctively wrapping around his deck. “I’ve been to the beach,” he added, to try and lighten the conversation as the two walked along the pier, closer toward the dock where the duel had taken place what felt like decades ago. “We took a trip, a few weeks ago, all of us, it was nice to go swimming and relax.”

“Unless Jounouchi drowned, I’m not interested in hearing stories of your summer holiday,” Seto responded, causing Yuugi to roll his eyes. Atem and Seto may have finally become friends (or something close to it), but there was little hope that Seto and Jounouchi would ever get along. “You haven’t entered any tournaments,” the CEO continued, which caused Yuugi to look up at him as they walked, brow furrowed. “Odd behavior, from the King of Games.”

“I guess I needed some time,” Yuugi admitted, returning his gaze to the pier as they walked. They were almost nearing the end, which would provide an overview of a portion of beach and the docks where the duel had taken place… just like in his dream. “I might enter the next invitational.” He had received countless offers, but had ignored most of them. It didn’t feel quite right, to jump back into dueling without his partner at his side. “What about you, Kaiba-kun? You haven’t entered any, either.”

“If you aren’t competing, there is no point.” Their steps slowed as they reached the end of the pier, and Yuugi rested his arms on the wooden barricade to lean over, to look down at the crashing waves below. “I don’t take any joy in defeating worthless opponents,” Seto continued, glancing over the barricade into the waters below, his eyes resting on the dock—the dock that Yuugi had seen in his dream, and the dock where Atem had told Yuugi to go. “Besides, I hold no title. No one is knocking down my door for an opportunity to best me.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Yuugi murmured, his eyes scanning the beach and water. “I’m sure you have a lot of people who want to teach you some kind of lesson.” But no matter how much Yuugi had looked, there was nothing there… no Atem, no voice. Nothing out of the ordinary, except the absence of electric lights and the rising sun. “Do you see anything? Or. . . I don’t know, feel anything?”

“I feel annoyed that I allowed myself to be brought here on little more than your say-so,” Seto said dryly, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked toward the pier. “And I feel like I could have had a more productive morning, but I decided to answer your worthless phone call instead.”

Some portion of Yuugi’s heart told him that was true… that, perhaps, there was just something inside Yuugi that wasn’t willing to let Atem go, and that was why he had the dream. It was all in his head, and it simply manifested into something that felt real… but a larger piece of Yuugi (the emotional part, the intuitive part) told him that that wasn’t true. 

Atem had wanted him to come here. So, apparently, had Kisara… or so Seto thought, which was why he was here. 

“We both heard voices from the past,” Yuugi said, his tone slipping into something a little more frustrated. “The electrical storm, the city’s power grid failing… and we both, on that same night, heard voices we never thought we would hear again? This was _real_ , Kaiba-kun, he wouldn’t reach out to me unless it was something—”

“He _left_ , Yuugi,” Seto interrupted, his tone suddenly harsh as he turned to stare down at Yuugi, who met his gaze, unflinching. “He is gone. There is no point in chasing ghosts that don’t exist—something that I should know, by now.” He drew in a deep breath before exhaling slowly, turning away from the end of the pier. “I need to return to my building, I don’t have time for—”

“What did Kisara say to you?” Yuugi pressed, easily keeping up with Seto as the taller teenager began to walk back down the pier to the car, where Isono was waiting. “She had to have been warning you about something specific, something that made you want to come here – what was it?”

“She told me that I needed to protect myself against my father.” The response caused Yuugi to stop walking, his eyes widening as Seto continued to walk toward the car—hands in his pockets, straight-backed, nonplussed by the statement. And as Seto continued to walk farther away, he raised his voice, his tone curt: “If you want a ride home, you should keep up. I’ve wasted enough time, today.”

Yuugi stared after Seto as the older teen (true to his word) slid into his car without waiting for Yuugi to catch up... but he followed Seto with a frown, his mind racing as he struggled to put together the pieces of the new puzzle that was apparently set before him. Kisara was warning Seto about his father (who was long since dead)... Atem had instructed Yuugi to find Seto, for what? He wasn't entirely sure, but it had to be something. 

_Something_ had to be wrong. Surely, something had to be wrong.

He slid into the vehicle without another word, closing the door behind him. Seto was already texting on his phone, instructing Isono to drop Yuugi off at the Game Shop, afterwhich they would both return immediately to Kaiba Corporation, but Yuugi struggled to pay attention. Instead, he was lost in thought, shifting his gaze to stare back out the window, his lips pursed into a frown.

 _What are you trying to tell me, mou hitori no boku_? Yuugi asked silently, resting his forehead against the cool class of the car window. _What am I supposed to do?_

* * *


	2. ECHOES.

**CHAPTER TWO: ECHOES**

Our echoes roll from soul to soul, And grow for ever and for ever.

Alfred Lord Tennyson.

* * *

Twelve long hours later, Seto had successfully managed to reconnect the three major hospitals in the area to a temporary electrical grid, set up and supported by Kaiba Corporation. But the rest of the city was still plunged into darkness and there was no real estimate on whether or not the city would be reconnected to the grid any time soon. He had dispatched Kaiba Corporation's top engineers to several sites across the city in order to figure out what the city clearly could not... but there was no more that Seto himself could do for the evening.

So, exhausted and with a splitting headache, Seto had returned home.

Kaiba Manor had an independent solar powered generator that supported the essential functions of the home, but Seto's laboratory required too much energy for the generator to properly support it. Still, he had internet access, which meant (at minimum), Mokuba would be able to do his homework and access Netflix. It did mean, though, that Seto's major work was at an end for the evening... which meant he had more time to _think_. Something Seto abhorred, when he had something on his mind that he wanted to shake.

The conversation with Yuugi from earlier weighed heavily on his mind, as he ascended the stairs toward the front door of the Manor. Yuugi seemed convinced that something odd had happened the night before, and for all Seto knew, Yuugi was correct. But entertaining Yuugi's desperation to see Atem again had resulted in a wasted morning and an equally frustrating ride to the Game Shop. Yuugi hadn't said a single word, and Seto had not pressed him, but before Yuugi had left, he had left Seto with a parting goodbye:

_You know what's in your heart, Kaiba-kun._

The words had bothered him for the majority of the day, and as Seto unlocked the door to the Manor by pressing his hand against an invisible palm scanner, he exhaled slowly to release some measure of tension before going inside. What was in his _heart_ was a desperate need to move on from the events of the past... hadn't it been Atem who had lectured him, repeatedly, that the past built the future? He had done what he was supposed to do to complete his destiny; he had assisted Atem in saving the world. Why, then, was he expected to continue when Atem hadn't sought fit to properly say goodbye to _him_?

"Mokuba?" Seto called out as he stepped inside the front foyer of the Manor, closing the door behind him with a click. Signs of his younger brother being home were apparent. Mokuba's backpack was haphazardly thrown on the ground near the foot of the grand staircase, and his shoes were hastily kicked off at the door. But even though Seto logically knew Mokuba was home, he still felt the need to check, to announce his arrival. 

"Upstairs, niisama!" came the loud call from (indeed) upstairs, and Seto exhaled a breath that he wasn't aware he was holding. It was irrational, to believe Mokuba was anywhere _but_ home... but the last twenty-four hours had put Seto on edge. He shrugged out of his coat to hang up in the foyer before slipping out of his shoes, stepping to the right to enter the main living area of the Manor. He had only just sunk himself into the nearest chair when he heard the thundering of Mokuba's feet hitting the stairs, and Seto glanced to his right to see his younger brother appear, breathless with the sudden race down to the living room. "You're home early?"

"It was decided I was no longer needed," Seto responded dryly, though his lips twitched into a faint smile at Mokuba's perceived excitement, at Seto being home early. His eyes flickered up and down, taking in what Mokuba was wearing (not his school uniform), before he arched his eyebrows slightly. "Did you finish your homework?"

"Obviously." Mokuba crossed to throw himself onto the couch adjacent Seto, offering a charming grin that Seto was certain masked a white lie... but Seto didn't press about the homework, instead shifting to face his younger brother, to continue the conversation. "Homework, done, dinner, done... the leftovers are in the fridge, if you want any."

"Maybe later," Seto said with a slight wave of his hand -- not the answer that Mokuba wanted to hear, surely, but that was the one he was getting. "I need to monitor the city's response to whatever happened last night . . . Kaiba Corporation is supporting the city's hospitals until further notice. No one knows when the city is going to come completely online. It could be weeks."

"Looks like you're going to have to home school me," Mokuba said wryly, which earned a roll of Seto's eyes in return. "I'm serious!" he followed up with protest, leaning forward slightly to speak almost conspiratorially. "I'm pretty sure it's illegal to have school with the power out."

"And I'm absolutely certain that you do not want me to home school you," Seto said evenly, settling back into his chair to become a little more comfortable. _This_ felt normal... talking with Mokuba about something inconsequential was preferable to dwelling on a dream that was most likely a figment of his imagination. Yuugi had seemed certain . . . but Yuugi seemed certain about a lot of things in life that he was wrong about. Dwelling on something that was never going to happen was worthless. Figuring out how to keep Mokuba entertained during a power outage was a much better way to spend his time. "Come to the Corporation with me tomorrow, if the power still isn't on," Seto continued, shifting slightly to remove his phone from his pocket, to unlock it with a brush of his fingers. "There will be plenty to do that isn't calculus."

"You like calculus," Mokuba grumbled, and Seto's eyes flickered toward his younger brother as Mokuba rose from the couch to collect the remote control on the table, to turn on the television across the hall. "And all math. And everything else boring."

"Math is the reason why we have power right now," Seto reminded him, shifting through a few more text messages. One from Isono with an update on the situation, another from his chief engineer... and one from Yuugi, who simply asked if Seto made it home safely. "He's impossible," Seto murmured to himself, irritated as he highlighted the message to delete.

"Who's impossible?" Mokuba asked, his tone equally absent as he pulled up the apps available on the SmartTV, choosing to open YouTube. "Wanna watch last year's Duel Monsters championship semi-finals?"

"I have no interest, but if you want to watch a group of children struggling for relevance, be my guest." The comment earned a snort of laughter, but Seto then chose to answer Mokuba's first question with a heavy sigh. "Yuugi."

"You talked to Yuugi?" Mokuba's interest seemed piqued, and he looked over at Seto, who met his gaze with a slight frown. "Really?"

"Don't sound surprised," Seto said, a brief flash of annoyance crossing his features before he returned his attention to his phone. Yuugi's text message was still highlighted, and Seto had not yet deleted it. "He called me this morning with an asinine request. I entertained it, and now he seems to think we can waste more of my time."

"I didn't even know Yuugi had your phone number." Mokuba sounded impressed, which only served to annoy Seto further, and as Seto rose to his feet to move to the kitchen to get something to drink, he heard Mokuba groan to himself, seemingly exasperated with Seto's response. "Niisama, don't you think you should... I don't know, talk to him?"

"About what?" Seto asked evenly, his eyes on his phone as he walked toward the kitchen. He heard Mokuba's footsteps follow close behind, but Seto didn't turn around, instead pausing in front of the refrigerator to open it. "I have nothing to say to him."

"Then why did you talk to him today?" Mokuba pressed, and Seto tossed him a warning look, indicating that he no longer wanted to speak about this... but, like with many of Seto's warning looks, Mokuba disregarded it, watching his older brother take a pitcher of water out of the refrigerator to pour himself a glass of water. "It had to have been something worth talking about, for you to do it."

"It was a waste of time." Seto set the pitcher down on the island countertop centered in their kitchen, his phone still in his right hand. Yuugi's message was still in his inbox. "What it was about is irrelevant."

The response caused a sigh from Mokuba, who pushed himself up onto a stool, resting his elbows on the counter as he watched his older brother take a sip from the glass. "Just don't let yourself get closed off again, niisama," Mokuba said finally, his lips pursing into a frown as Seto paused in taking a sip. "I don't want you to get like that again." Mokuba didn't need to specify--the _that_ in "get like _that_ again" meant one thing, and one thing only. Seto set down the glass with a sigh before returning his attention to his phone, texting quickly before deposing his phone on the kitchen island, sidestepping Mokuba to move back into the living room foyer. Mokuba blinked before glancing over his shoulder, collecting Seto's phone, calling out, "Niisama, you forgot--"

"I'm beginning this worthless video in one minute," Seto interrupted, sinking back down into the chair, folding his arms over his chest as he rested his head against the back of the chair. "Join me if you want." 

Mokuba blinked again before hopping off of the stool, but not before glancing down at the cell phone screen, which still detailed the text message between Mutou Yuugi and Kaiba Seto. And Seto heard Mokuba exhale softly into a laugh, which caused an odd stirring in Seto's chest... a sense of relief, maybe. Because, at minimum, _this_ made sense.

Even if what happened the night before didn't.

* * *

_I always make it home safe._

The text message caused half a laugh to escape Yuugi's lips as he stood at the end of the pier, fiddling with his cell phone before returning it to his pocket. It had taken twelve hours, but Kaiba Seto had acknowledged his presence... an improvement, over the last six months. Encouraging, at the very least, that he was willing to engage in conversation. He would need Kaiba's help, if he were going to solve this mystery.

 _If_ there was a mystery, at all.

He couldn't quite shake the dream he had had the night before. He had been on the pier, alone. The wind had whipped through the air, whistling through Yuugi's hair as he inhaled deeply, the salt stinging his lungs as he breathed. And Atem's voice -- echoing faintly, but very much within his mind, just as it had been before Atem had moved on -- had been clear as day. 

_You need to talk to Kaiba. He will know why_.

But Kaiba had provided no more clues than Atem had provided Yuugi, only that Kisara -- the woman from Ancient Egypt who had housed the soul of the Blue Eyes White Dragon -- had told Seto to prepare to defend himself against his father. Kaiba Gozaburo had been dead for years, and Yuugi had seen Kaiba Seto put an end to Kaiba Gozaburo's spirit, in the virtual world. And even if Gozaburo _was_ still alive, somewhere, Kaiba Seto could defeat him. Of that, Yuugi had absolutely no doubt.

Something inside Yuugi believed that Kaiba Seto was hiding something, but he wasn't entirely sure what. He wasn't even sure Kaiba knew what he was hiding. But Yuugi was certain that whatever had spoken to him in his mind was a sign of things to come, and that somewhere, someone needed his assistance. Why else would Atem reach out to him in that way? 

Or perhaps Kaiba was right... that Yuugi was hoping for something that just was not real. Atem had moved on, and as Kaiba so bluntly stated, he was not coming back.

Still . . .

"I don't know what you want me to do," Yuugi said out loud, shoving his hands into his pockets as he watched the waves crash against the dock. It was still dark, with little to no light. Emergency lights flickered on buoys in the distance, but for all intents and purposes, Yuugi was standing in the darkness, alone. He wasn't entirely sure why he thought coming back to the pier at night would provide some answers, but Atem had always been someone who danced the line between light and dark. Perhaps something would reveal itself in the shadows that hadn't been here before... "Kaiba-kun isn't ready to deal with whatever this is, and I can't do this by myself." Yuugi drew in a breath before letting it out slowly, shifting on his feet to keep warm in the chill of the seaside breeze. "Why didn't you tell me to talk to Jounouchi-kun?" he muttered, frustrated. Why couldn't visions point him in the direction of someone helpful? Why did it have to be Kaiba?

There was no response, to Yuugi's question, and the teenager sighed before sinking down to sit on the dock itself, resting his back against the wooden barricade. His legs stretched out in front of him, boots catching on the splintered wood as Yuugi rested his head against the dock. He removed his hands from his pockets, checking the time on his cell phone, along with a few text messages from Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, both asking what he was doing that evening.

He hadn't yet told them, that he had heard Atem's voice. Yuugi wasn't entirely sure why... perhaps afraid of raising their hopes, or causing them to think he was crazy. It was bad enough that Kaiba Seto had told him as much that morning; Yuugi wasn't sure he wanted to have that conversation with people who actually considered him a friend.

"I'm sitting on a dock, by myself, because I heard a voice in a dream," Yuugi said to himself, half a laugh escaping as he scrolled through the text messages. "No wonder Kaiba-kun thought I was crazy." And maybe he _wasn't_ crazy... but chasing down voices in the dark instead of focusing on the present wasn't what Atem wanted him to do with his future. Wasn't it?

His fingers paused on a text message from Jounouchi, and Yuugi sighed pressing Jounouchi's name, raising his phone to his ear. It rang once, then twice, and Yuugi was about to hang up before the call suddenly connected. 

"Yuugi!" The loud greeting was enough to clear any doubt or misgivings resting in Yuugi's mind. He may be hearing voices in the dark, but at least Jounouchi would always be the constant source of support that he needed, regardless of whatever was happening in the world. "Where've you been?! We've been trying to get ahold of you all day."

"Aah, sorry, Jounouchi-kun, I've been... it's been a long day." Yuugi hesitated before shifting to stand, dusting off his pants with his free hand as he continued to speak on the phone. "The power went out, and I met with Kaiba-kun this morning to--"

"Wait, he talked to you?" Jounouchi's tone sounded incredulous... which was an improvement, Yuugi supposed, over the usual insult that associated Kaiba Seto's name. Not that it probably wasn't well deserved, from Jounouchi. "And he _met_ with you? Why? What's the matter with him?"

"He's fine," Yuugi reassured him as he began to walk back down the pier. Still empty, still dark, still void of any long-lost Pharaohs... "He _looked_ fine, anyway. Or, well - he looked like he always did, which is... annoyed at my general existence."

"He's such an ass," Jounouchi grumbled, which caused Yuugi to chuckle. "Did he say why he's been dodging your calls?"

"I didn't think I needed to ask." There was no need, really, to pry into the reason why Kaiba Seto did what he did. Yuugi was pretty sure he would never get an answer, one way or another. Not unless Kaiba Seto decided to tell him of his own free will. "Besides, you know Kaiba-kun," Yuugi continued. The lights from the street were almost in full-view, now... nearly there to catch the first bus back to the Game Shop. "He'll talk about it when he wants to talk about it."

"We're all going to be dead before he wants to talk about it."

"And that's probably what he's banking on," Yuugi admitted. He had reached the end of the pier . . . but something within him caused him to pause, and he turned on his heel, to look back the way he came. It was still dark-- no sign of anyone else present. "He needs time," Yuugi said after a moment's pause, turning his attention back toward the bus stop. "He has to grieve just like everyone else, right?"

Jounouchi made a noise of agreement -- a drawn-out sigh that indicated Yuugi was correct, but he didn't necessarily like it. "I'm just worried he's going to do something stupid. Nothing good has come out of Kaiba being by himself."

"Yeah, I know." The bus was approaching, the lights flickering with a pothole the wheels struck. But now that Jounouchi had brought it up, Yuugi chewed his lip, thinking back to how Kaiba Seto had appeared early that morning. The teenager looked tired, but it _was_ early . . . and he hadn't wanted to engage in small talk, but that wasn't necessarily unusual. "But I don't think he's in that space. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look... well, how he looks when he's like that."

"Aah, none of our business anyway... anyway, we should get together tomorrow. Honda's got a portable battery pack, so we can at least charge our phones until _that_ dies, too. Can we swing by the Game Shop at around eleven?"

"Sure thing," Yuugi said warmly. The bus rolled up to a stop, the doors swinging open, and Yuugi stepped aboard, swiping his bus pass at the front. "Eleven sounds good. I'll see you then, Jounouchi-kun - and everyone else, too."

"Sounds good - stay safe, Yuugi."

The call disconnected, and Yuugi slipped his cell phone into his pocket, turning to take a seat near the middle of the bus. It was relatively empty, and Yuugi sank into a seat with a sigh, resting his head against the window -- but he had little time to relax, as the driver of the bus suddenly protested:

"Hey, lady, you need to pay--"

Yuugi blinked before shifting in his seat to lean into the aisle slightly, to see what the commotion was. The driver was arguing with a young woman who had stepped onto the bus... a woman who was wearing a brown colored tunic, which was torn in some places. Simple sandals. . . definitely not in-fashion, for Domino City, but that wasn't what was most unusual about her. 

No, it was her hair. It was long, and silvery-white, reaching past the small of her back. Her skin was pale, and she was thin. Her expression was panicked, and she was looking around the bus as if she had never seen something like this before.

"I said, you need to--"

"She's with me," Yuugi said immediately, getting to his feet, his heart hammering in his chest. His words caused both the driver and the young woman to look back at him, both with expressions of recognition. The driver, because Yuugi had paid his fare (and was one of the most famous duelists in the world). And the young woman, because -- 

"Pharaoh," she whispered, her expression torn between relief and . . . fear? Yuugi never understood how anyone could be afraid of Atem, but if this woman was who Yuugi thought she was, then the fear likely made sense. After all, Kisara was not treated well by the majority of her countrymen. "I knew I saw you get into this. . . " The young woman struggled to find the words, and took a few steps closer to Yuugi. The driver moved to grab the young woman by the arm to stop her, but she quickly spun on her heel, stumbling backwards into Yuugi, who caught her quickly to support her. "Help me," she whispered.

"I'll pay her fare when we get off our stop, she's with me," Yuugi repeated, which caused the driver to scowl before waving a hand, returning to his seat with a muttered _whatever, kid_. The bus lurched into motion, and Yuugi quickly guided Kisara to a seat near the rear of the bus, shrugging out of his coat to drape around her before he took a seat next to her.

For a few moments, the two sat in silence. But soon, Kisara drew in a deep breath before reaching out to instinctively grab Yuugi's arm as the bus rattled to a start. "I am sorry," she murmured after a moment, removing her arm, almost surprised with herself by the reaction. "I should not--"

"I'm not the Pharaoh," Yuugi said gently, lowering his voice to keep his voice quiet. "It's a long story, but I know him." Kisara glanced toward Yuugi, her eyes holding some measure of suspicion and confusion. Yuugi offered her a faint smile, encouraging, but understanding. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"If you are not the Pharaoh, then who are you?"

"Yuugi. Mutou Yuugi, I'm -- I'm a friend of his." It seemed the simplest way to explain away the complicated relationship that Atem and Yuugi had, and the duelist drew in a deep breath before exhaling slowly, glancing toward the front of the bus. "You don't know who I am, but I know who you are, and I -- how are you here? Do you know where you are?"

"No, I . . ." Kisara hesitated before her eyes shifted back out the window, to show the darkened cityscape that slowly rolled by, as the bus continued toward the Game Shop. "I woke up on the sands, near the water."

 _The beach._ "Okay," Yuugi murmured, his mind racing. Why Kisara? She was supposed to be sealed in time . . . merging permanently with her kaa. For all intents and purposes, dead. How could she possibly be here? "And you were in Egypt?" Yuugi continued tentatively, not wanting to discuss the events if Kisara wasn't prepared to do so. "Do you remember the last thing that you saw?" 

"I was . . . with the High Priest." Her expression clouded before she looked toward Yuugi, her brow furrowing slightly. "We were in battle, and Seth . . . " Her expression shifted from muddled confusion to concern, and Kisara leaned toward Yuugi, her eyes full of worry. "Did he--?"

"Seth survived," Yuugi assured her with a small smile, and he could see the weight of worry vanish from Kisara's shoulders as she leaned back into the chair of the bus. And Yuugi reached out to gently pat her hand, trying to be as comforting as possible. He had no idea what was going on, or why Kisara was here, but it was evidence the woman had been through an ordeal. "You saved his life."

"And the Pharaoh?"

"It's . . . complicated." _How do I explain that?_ But Yuugi pushed forward with the conversation, removing his hand from Kisara's arm to shift in his seat, to look at what stop they were at. "But we can get off the bus soon, and I can try to explain everything." They were nearing Kaiba Corporation's plaza, which meant they were nearly to the Game Shop . . . the brilliant light of Kaiba Corporation outshone the darkness of the city. "You can . . . come home with me, until we figure out what to do next. Is that okay?"

"How do I know you can be trusted?" Kisara asked warily, but her attention was soon distracted by the lights of Kaiba Corporation -- and out the window, lit up as it always was, the statue of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. She protected the entrance, wings unfurled, eyes boring holes into passerby. It was a centerpiece that had been installed in front of the Kaiba Corporation after Kaiba Seto had become CEO, and Yuugi walked past it so often that he didn't even really notice it was there.

It was because of that fact that Yuugi didn't immediately notice what Kisara was looking at, but once he did, he immediately said, "Kisara--"

Kisara immediately shifted to her feet, grabbing the support bar. "I want to get off here!" Kisara called out to the bus driver, who looked in the rearview mirror and slowed the bus down. "Here, please --"

"No -- _no_ , trust me, you do not," Yuugi said quickly, getting to his feet as well. The bus driver looked cross, at the conflicting information, before Yuugi turned to Kisara, speaking quickly under his breath. "I can explain everything, Kisara, but you need to trust me--"

"I do not know who you are, but I know what _that_ is," Kisara interrupted, her tone firm. "I was brought here for a purpose, and that purpose--"

"Are you getting off at Kaiba Corp. or not?" the bus driver interrupted. "Because you might be the King of Games, but I've got a schedule to keep, and--"

"Who is in charge of that building?" Kisara asked, stepping around Yuugi before moving up the aisle, her tone insistent. "Who built the Dragon?"

The bus driver stared at her in the mirror before shifting in his seat, staring back at Yuugi, who quickly felt the situation slipping out of his control. "Is she serious?" 

"No -- well, yes, but I -- Kisara, we can talk about it at my house," Yuugi said quietly, reaching out to take her arm gently, but firmly. "Can you take us to the Game Shop, it's stop 38." Yuugi added to the bus driver, who sighed and turned back in his seat. "I'm sorry for the trouble -- you don't have to trust me," Yuugi added under his breath to Kisara, who turned to desperately look back at the dragon, looking as if it would vanish if she took her eyes off of it. "But come with me for tonight, and tomorrow, I'll take you to see the dragon."

There was a brief moment of silence before Kisara nodded stiffly, sinking back into the bus seat. Yuugi sat next to her with a heavy sigh, a sense of relief washing over him. He removed his phone from his pocket to quickly text Anzu, to ask her to come to the Game Shop with a few sets of clothes. 

"How could the Dragon be here?" Kisara murmured to herself, and Yuugi looked over at her with a small smile before returning his attention to his phone. "How is that possible?"

"I know someone who can tell you all about it," Yuugi said tiredly. And, after a moment of hesitation, Yuugi composed a text message to Kaiba Seto. After a minute more of thought, he hit send.

_We need to meet tomorrow. Call me first._


	3. REFLECTIONS.

**CHAPTER THREE: REFLECTIONS.**

“One of the saddest things in life, is the things one remembers.”

Agatha Christie.

* * *

The beginning of the night was uneventful, for the most part. Once Yuugi had explained what had happened, Anzu had come to the Game Shop with a closet full of clothes. Kisara was shown how to operate the shower by Anzu, and Yuugi had left the girls alone to allow Kisara the space to rest. While Yuugi was rummaging through the kitchen to try and find something to eat, he overheard Anzu explaining everything (indeed, _everything_ ) to Kisara... everything from light bulbs to running water to shampoo bottles. Which, honestly, was kind of a relief -- Yuugi was going to have a hard enough time explaining everything _else_ to also have to explain modern conveniences.

He was putting together a plate of food when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket, and Yuugi removed it to see a text from Kaiba. 

_Why do we need to meet tomorrow?_

"Can't you just make one thing easy," Yuugi muttered to himself, placing the phone on the counter to continue putting together the plate of fruit he found in the refrigerator. But before he could finish, his phone buzzed again... and again -- this time, because of a phone call. And once Yuugi glanced at the screen, he grimaced to himself before putting the phone on speaker mode, continuing to put together the plate. "Kaiba-kun--"

"I am not going on a wild goose chase because you had a vision, Yuugi," the voice of Kaiba Seto interrupted. His voice had an odd quality to it... almost like a faint echo, like Kaiba was speaking through water. Yuugi paused in arranging the sliced apples on a plate to squint at his cell phone, assuming that it was a problem with his device, before Kaiba continued. "Either tell me why we need to meet, or delete my phone number." 

"Where are you?" Yuugi asked after a moment, picking up his phone with a spare hand to check the signal. It seemed to be working fine... "Your voice sounds... a little weird."

"My underground laboratory, fixing a generator." Kaiba said the words as if it were obvious. And, sure enough, Yuugi heard the sound of metal striking metal... like Kaiba was working on something, or screwing something into place. "It's my experimental lab, so it's mostly empty save for essential materials. Hence the echo." There was a pause, almost as if they were having an actual conversation, before Kaiba continued, his tone blunt, "Answer my question."

"Oh - you have power?" _Of course he has power_. "I didn't--"

"Am I not speaking clearly enough for you to understand the meaning of _answer my--_ "

"I am, I am!" Yuugi protested, setting his phone back down to continue dumping apples onto the plate. Why hadn't he gone grocery shopping sooner... "I went back to the pier, because I kept getting this feeling that I was missing something. And . . . I didn't find Atem, but I -- I found her. Kisara." He paused, there, expecting an interruption, or a demand of whether he was telling the truth . . . but hearing nothing, Yuugi continued, his tone a bit tentative, "Kaiba-kun?"

"I heard you." His tone was hard to read, and Yuugi silently wished they had had this conversation in person . . . not that Kaiba Seto was any easier to read in person, but Yuugi could at least pick up whether he was interested in the news, avoidant, or just plain uninterested. Still, Yuugi remained silent, allowing Kaiba the space to make up his mind on whether he wanted to continue speaking . . . and when the duelist _did_ continue, Yuugi was surprised to hear, "I assume you found her alive."

"Of course I found her alive," Yuugi said in exasperation, turning to the sink to rinse his hands of the various fruit juices covering them due to cutting up an impromptu fruit platter. "Why would I call you if I -- nevermind." Because, honestly, of all the people to call if he found a dead body . . . "She's upstairs with Anzu, she -- she needed some clothes, and to rest. I told her she could stay with me until we figured out what else to do . . . she's really overwhelmed."

"I can imagine waking up in a modern metropolis is overwhelming to someone who barely understands the concept of electricity." There was another pause before Yuugi heard another sound of metal scraping against metal; it sounded like Kaiba was tearing something apart. Was he building a generator from scratch? "What have you told her?"

"About Domino City? Anzu explained the basics... or _is_ explaining the basics, but--"

"About me, Yuugi, I could care less about her understanding of public transportation." The interruption was cold, sharp, and Yuugi sighed to himself, rubbing his face with his now clean hands. It was the portion of the conversation that he had been dreading; mostly because he knew it was going to be an uphill battle, and while Yuugi had endless patience for such things, this particular battle was going to be hard to win. "What did you tell her about me? Atem? Or _you_ , for that matter."

"Nothing, really," Yuugi admitted, resting his elbows on the kitchen counter to continue speaking to the phone. "I told her I was a friend of Atem, because she confused me with him . . . and I haven't mentioned anything about you. She asked about the High Priest, and I told her that he lived -- but she's figured out by now that she's far in her future." No interruptions thusfar, which Yuugi judged to be a good thing, but he knew one was coming as he continued. "But she -- the bus passed by Kaiba Corporation on the way home, so she saw the dragon outside of your building. And she wants to see it. Tomorrow." There was a silence, before Yuugi continued, "Kaiba-kun, we have to help her, and you're the closest thing she has to--"

"I have availability at ten in the morning. No sooner, no later. We can meet in my office at Kaiba Corporation." It was said crisply, and Yuugi exhaled a sigh of relief. "But I would explain to her, in crystal clear fashion, that I have nothing to do with what happened three thousand years ago, Yuugi. I won't be responsible for her, and I'm not indebted to whatever she did for _him_."

He considered allowing Kaiba his boundary; resisted the urge to push him, further. But Yuugi had allowed Kaiba Seto his selfishness and isolation for long enough, and instead, he pressed his fellow duelist, saying, "You've called on the Blue Eyes White Dragon to save your life countless times, Kaiba-kun, and you really don't think you owe her anything?"

There was a silence before Kaiba said, shortly, "Ten A.M., Yuugi."

The phone call then disconnected.

* * *

When Yuugi returned to his bedroom, he saw Anzu carefully arranging the clothes she dropped off in the corner on Yuugi's desk. Kisara was seated gingerly on his bed, wearing a set of borrowed pajamas, her long hair dampened from the shower. She looked... overwhelmed, but radiated a calm energy that Yuugi found positively envious. He supposed she had to remain in a constant state of zen in order to control the beast that resided within her soul.

"I brought you some food," Yuugi said warmly, offering the plate of fruit toward Kisara . . . and when she did not take it, he set it on the bed next to her before taking a seat in a nearby chair. "We're going to meet with a friend of mine tomorrow morning, I think he'll be able to help you understand a lot of what you're missing," Yuugi continued, carefully ignoring the warning look that Anzu shot him at the mention of this mysterious _friend_. "But you can sleep here, for tonight. We don't mind."

"Thank you," Kisara said quietly, glancing toward the plate of food before drawing in a breath, allowing her eyes to wander around the darkened room. Anzu had lit some candles in order to provide some semblance of light, but it was still full of shadows. "I . . . I do not know what to say, other than thank you. You are impossibly kind."

"We're used to stuff like this," Anzu admitted with half a laugh, and she waved her hand dismissively before she took a seat upon Yuugi's desk, swinging her legs loosely. "I think we've gotten complacent, with nothing weird happening in the last handful of months... we're happy to help, Kisara-san."

Kisara offered Anzu a small smile in gratitude before shifting her attention to Yuugi, her eyes searching out his own, curious. "Who are we meeting tomorrow?" she asked, her tone tentative. "You promised me that we would see the Dragon."

"And we are," Yuugi agreed, his eyes darting to Anzu quickly before returning his gaze to Kisara, a small smile gracing his features. "The friend I'm talking about is the one who owns the building. His name is Kaiba Seto and he . . . how do I describe Kaiba-kun?" Yuugi asked Anzu, who arched her eyebrows in response. "He's . . ."

"He's a genius," Anzu began, which Yuugi found absolutely gracious of her, considering all the other adjectives she probably could have chosen. But then, Anzu was one of the few who managed to get Kaiba Seto to say _anything_ relatively nice, let alone an actual compliment. "He owns the Kaiba Corporation, and he's built a lot of amazing machines and technology. Especially for playing Duel Monsters - the card game I told you about, remember? The one based off of what happened in Egypt?"

"I remember, but that doesn't explain the Dragon," Kisara said slowly, her eyes shifting from Yuugi to Anzu, her brow furrowing in confusion. "How would he know what it is?"

Anzu opened her mouth to continue, but hesitated before glancing toward Yuugi. The question in her eyes was clear: _How much should I say?_

It was a good question, honestly. Kaiba had instructed him to be bluntly honest, which Yuugi (begrudgingly) agreed with. There was no protecting Kisara from the truth - that the world she knew was long since gone, and that the High Priest she had come to know (and, arguably, love) was no longer here. All that _was_ here was a shadow of what he was . . . and while Yuugi fiercely defended Kaiba Seto's character, honor, and (hidden) good heart, there was no arguing that High Priest Seth and Kaiba Seto were two totally different people, even if they were connected through their pasts.

"Do you believe in reincarnation, Kisara-san?" Yuugi said after a moment, tilting his head toward Kisara, who looked toward him, with some amount of confusion. "Like . . . your soul can pass on to another person, and you get to live a new life."

"I have heard it can happen," Kisara responded, her brow furrowing further . . . before her eyes lit into some type of understanding, and she leaned forward slightly, her eyes bright. "Is that who you are? The Pharaoh, reincarnated?"

"Uh - no, no," Yuugi said quickly, shaking his head, and to his (mild) annoyance, he could see Anzu covering a laugh with a hand. How frustrating. "Atem and I are totally different people, we aren't . . . I'm not connected to Egypt in that way, but Kaiba Seto is. At least, we think he is -- we _know_ he is," Yuugi amended, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, meeting Kisara's gaze. "We didn't realize it at first, but once we got to know one another, we figured out that Kaiba-kun -- "

But Yuugi stopped speaking as the realization of who Kaiba was seemed to dawn on Kisara without him explaining it. The young woman sat back abruptly, her back resting against the wall of Yuugi's room. The poster that she was leaning against rumpled slightly, but Kisara didn't seem to notice or care. "How do you know all of this?" she asked finally, her tone faint, her fingers curling into the bedspread of Yuugi's bed tightly. "How is this possible?"

"Years ago, I was given the Sennen Puzzle. I put it together, and I unlocked the spirit of the Pharaoh -- of Atem. And . . . the rest of it was just . . . destiny." It seemed to be the easiest way to explain it without going into too much detail, and he paused before exhaling slowly. "Six months ago, we put the Sennen Items to rest, and Atem passed into the afterlife. But Kaiba-kun and I both began hearing voices last night." He felt Anzu turn to stare at him in surprise, but he ignored it to continue, speaking quietly. "I heard Atem, and Kaiba-kun heard . . . well, you."

There was a silence, Kisara clearly searching for the words she wanted to use before saying, faintly, "Does he know who I am?"

"He does, but he's not the same person you knew in Khemet." Kaiba Seto _had_ instructed Yuugi to be honest, and so he was. But Yuugi hesitated, seeing Kisara's face falter at the information, before getting up to cross the room, sinking down onto the bed next to Kisara, turning to offer her a smile. "I think every duelist has an attachment to a specific monster," Yuugi continued, and Kisara shifted her attention back to him once more. "One that . . . embodies who you are, as a duelist, and as a person. And Kaiba-kun and the Blue Eyes White Dragon have a connection with one another. He's relied on it for a long time, in everything. Sometimes I don't think he really understands why, but I've seen him place every last hope, and dream, and wish he's had on that card."

"And won," Anzu added dryly, adding some amount of brevity to the weight of the conversation, which caused a faint smile to appear on Kisara's lips. "That Dragon has gotten him out of more spots of trouble than I can count."

"That's true," Yuugi agreed with a laugh, and he returned his attention to Kisara, his eyes bright, his smile warm. "If anyone knows how to help you, it'll be him. But until then, you've got us. Right?"

There was a silence before Kisara finally nodded in agreement, the motion stiff and slow, but still there. "Right," Kisara said quietly, uncurling her fingers from the bedspread. "I don't want to frighten him, that's all. Or make him feel obligated to talk to me, when he--"

"Trust me, the very last thing I am worried about is you scaring him or making him feel obligated to do anything," Yuugi reassured her, his tone shifting into a dry quip. "If Kaiba Seto is capable of anything, it's speaking his mind."

* * *

The conversation with Kisara hadn't lasted very long into the evening, the young woman confessing that she was tired and needed to recuperate. Yuugi elected to slept on the couch that night, granting Kisara the privacy of his bedroom. Anzu had left shortly after their conversation, with an insistent promise that all of them debrief about the situation after they met with Kaiba. Yuugi had agreed, albeit slightly reluctantly - after all, Kisara was new to this world, and bombarding her with a ton of information and people didn't seem fair. Then again, Yuugi certainly could not handle this by himself . . . the others would likely have a better idea on what to do with what was going on than he did.

At roughly eight in the morning, Yuugi was dressed and fiddling with the refrigerator. The Game Shop didn't have a generator, and so Yuugi had to dispose of some of the food that had spoiled in the two days without power. But while he was in the middle of getting rid of some spoiled milk, he overheard the sound of feet ascending down the stairs, and was soon greeted by Kisara, who was dressed in a loose sweater-dress that she had borrowed from Anzu.

"Aah, good morning, Kisara-san," Yuugi greeted warmly, wiping off his hands with a spare hand towel as he crossed the room to greet her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough, thank you." It was polite, as Kisara stepped into the kitchen, her arms folded loosely over her chest. She looked somewhat uncomfortable, and Yuugi couldn't necessarily blame her. It had to have been a lot, to wake up in a strange world and be taken in by a total stranger. He wasn't entirely sure how he would react himself, if he were her. "Thank you, again, for everything you have done for me. It's appreciated."

"It's nothing, really," Yuugi reassured her, gesturing that she could take a seat at the kitchen table, which she did. Yuugi took a seat across from her and, after a moment of hesitation, he decided to continue talking. "We have to leave to meet Kaiba-kun in about an hour, and . . . I don't really know what I can do to prepare you for that," he admitted, resting his chin in his hands as he watched Kisara, who offered him a faint smile in return. "But I really think he's the one who can help you the most."

"You act like everyone needs to prepare to have a conversation with him," Kisara said after a moment, her tone somewhat teasing as Yuugi exhaled into half a laugh. "He can't be that bad."

"No, he's not, he's a friend." That being said . . . "He's had a hard life," Yuugi continued, careful not to let on any details. While Yuugi was sure Kaiba Seto didn't particularly care how many people knew Kaiba Gozaburo was a terrible person, Yuugi was also certain Kaiba did not want a single soul to pity him. Besides, if Kaiba wanted to share any of that with Kisara, he was more than capable of doing so. "And he's learning, I think, to trust people. But he's gotten a lot better."

"Mm." Kisara pursed her lips together before shifting in her seat slightly, tilting her head toward Yuugi. Her expression was curious, almost passive, and not for the first time, Yuugi had a hard time believing that the petite woman in front of him was capable of calling forward the fearsome Blue Eyes White Dragon from deep within her soul. "Does he have any family?"

"He has a little brother named Mokuba, but no parents. They live on their own." And to avoid Kisara asking questions about parents, he forged forward with a warm smile. "You'll like Mokuba-kun a lot. He has a kind heart. Kaiba-kun does too, but they just . . . show it in a different way. They're very different," Yuugi finished, a bit sheepish as Kisara's lips pursed together, clearly trying not to laugh. "You wouldn't really know they were related unless you knew who they were, I think, but they're very close."

"I don't think Seth had a family," Kisara said after a moment, the smile vanishing, her expression forming into something more thoughtful, as she glanced toward the doorway that led into the living room area of Yuugi's home. "The Court seemed to be his family, until everything fell apart."

Yuugi watched her for a long moment, trying to decide how much to tell her before he elected to be honest . . . or, at least as honest as he could be, without risking the ire of Kaiba Seto. "Kaiba-kun used to have a lot of darkness in his heart," Yuugi said after a moment, sinking back into his chair as he spoke. "I . . . and Atem -- it was mostly Atem," Yuugi admitted, because in fairness, Yuugi truthfully had no idea what powers he had in the beginning. "Atem removed it. And since that day, since we first met, and spoke . . . he's been learning how to face the world without that darkness in his heart."

"He and the Pharaoh were friends," Kisara said, after a moment, her eyes shifting to meet Yuugi's. The statement wasn't a question. "This Kaiba Seto."

"They were." Yuugi's tone shifted from wry to a bit more muted, a somber expression gracing his features. "They . . . completed each other, in a weird way. Made each other better. Drove each other nuts." Yuugi was forced to endure hours of Atem complaining within his soul room about how positively infuriating Kaiba Seto was. _Hours_ of seething insults for every insult that Kaiba Seto imposed upon him . . . but Atem was fiercely protective of all of his friends, and that included Kaiba Seto. Atem had stepped up to the plate to defend Kaiba Seto whenever he needed it, and Kaiba Seto had done the same for the both of them. But Yuugi knew that Atem's absence created a different hole in Kaiba's life, one that Yuugi couldn't fulfill. "I think Kaiba-kun is still healing from that, too," he continued. "Everybody needs to grieve when something is lost, even if that loss isn't forever."

"And you?" The question surprised Yuugi, and he blinked as he looked at Kisara, who was looking at him with some concern, some sympathy. "You must miss him, too." And there was a pause before Kisara offered an apologetic smile. "You heard his voice in your dream, didn't you? So he must be important to you."

"He is." It was said as if it were the easiest thing to say in the world, and Yuugi paused before getting to his feet, inclining his head toward the clock -- they probably needed to get going, to avoid invoking Kaiba's ire at being late. "And . . . it has been hard, but I know I'm going to see him again. One day." His tone was confident, easy, and Yuugi waited for Kisara to rise to her feet before he moved toward the front of the Game Shop. "And -- if you're here, maybe it'll be sooner than I thought, but -- until then, the only thing we can do is take one day at a time." 

Kisara was quiet as she followed Yuugi through the Game Shop, and Yuugi noticed her eyes wandering to the posters adorning the walls, showcasing different Duel Monsters . . . some of which were probably familiar to her, some not. Not for the first time, Yuugi was glad Suguroku was away on a week-long trip. This would be difficult to explain on a good day, let alone a bizarre one like this.

"You said earlier, that it was destiny that brought you here," Kisara said once they stepped ouside, and Yuugi looked at her in slight surprise at the sudden statement. "So . . . I think I'll believe that destiny is what brought me here, too." And the young woman drew in a breath before facing Yuugi with a warm smile -- the first time Yuugi had seen her genuinely confident and at ease. A quiet strength within her propelling her forward. "And I'll trust you when you say that Kaiba Seto is a part of that destiny."

Yuugi didn't respond verbally; he only offered her a grin and a nod as he began to lead her to the bus stop they had gotten off the night before. _It is destiny . . . but the first_ _thing we have to do is go talk Kaiba Seto into helping when he might not want to help,_ Yuugi thought grimly to himself as he stopped to wait at the bus stop with Kisara. _Atem would be in his element right about now._

* * *

Kaiba Corporation was unusually empty, as Yuugi stepped off the bus with Kisara the next morning at 9:50 A.M. With the majority of the city still out of power, there was not much to do aside from do as much (or as little) work as possible from home. Typically, the plaza outside the building was packed with people--Yuugi was fairly certain at least ten or twelve school tours _daily_ went through the company. But on this day, Yuugi and Kisara walked inside easily (though Yuugi had to guide her past the Blue Eyes White Dragon statue, assuring her that they could spend time looking at it later).

Yuugi heard Kisara's breath catch as they stepped inside the building, and it was hard to blame her. The front lobby of Kaiba Corporation had another statue of the Blue Eyes White Dragon looming over the secretary's front welcoming desk, where a lovely young woman named Natsuki was seated, looking rather harried as she answered three different phones. There were not many of Kaiba Corporation employees that Yuugi recognized by sight, but Natsuki was one of them. She was also bright, cheery, and professional -- and easily handled Kaiba's sour moods with a warm smile.

She recognized Yuugi immediately, offering a cheerful wave with her free hand, but quickly returned to the phone with a quick (but professional): "Kaiba-sama is not taking any phone calls at this time, please leave a message!"

"Kaiba-kun has been busy?" Yuugi said after Natsuki hung up the phone, smiling apologetically as they approached the desk.

Natsuki let out an exasperated huff of air, tucking a piece of red hair out of her face before straightening up, offering a warm smile. "Since the electrical grid failed . . . Seto-sama is a genius, but he is not yet a miracle worker. Too many people need help, and he is only one person. So my job today is to tell people that. _Nicely,_ " she added, casting a mournful look toward the phones, and Yuugi pursed his lips to conceal a smile. He doubted very much that Kaiba had instructed Natsuki to be nice in her demands, but everyone had strengths. Delivering bad news in a kind fashion was not one of Kaiba Seto's. "Anyway, what can I do for you today, Mutou-san?"

"Ah, Kisara-san and I have a meeting with Kaiba-kun at ten," Yuugi said, gesturing toward Kisara, who was still staring up at the Blue Eyes White Dragon statue -- but as Yuugi gently nudged her, she snapped to attention and quickly inclined her head in a bow to Natsuki, who looked politely confused at why Kisara was so captivated with the statue in the first place. "He knows we're coming, but I don't know if he let Isono-san know."

"Who is Isono?" Kisara asked, looking at Yuugi with some hesitance. "A friend?"

"Isono-san is Kaiba-kun's right hand person," Yuugi explained, offering Natsuki a polite smile as he spoke, as the secretary looked somewhat confused at the question. "He helps run the building and the Corporation, but I don't know if Kaiba-kun would have . . . I spoke to him a little late last night," he admitted, offering a helpless shrug to Natsuki. "So I'm not sure if Kaiba-kun would've let Isono-san to put it on his calendar, that's all."

"Aah, Isono knows everything, so I wouldn't be surprised," Natsuki hummed, shifting to check a _fourth_ phone, lifting the receiver and pressing a blue button. Yuugi didn't hear the phone ring, but Natsuki immediately said, "Good morning, Isono-san -- Mutou-san is here to meet with Seto-sama. He has an appointment?" There was a pause as Natsuki listened, her brow furrowing slightly, before glancing toward Yuugi and Kisara. "Ah, he did bring a guest, yes -- should I send -- oh -- of course, I can ask." And Natsuki covered the mouthpiece of the phone with a hand before looking toward Yuugi, her tone somewhat apologetic. "Seto-sama is in the middle of a test, would you mind meeting in the laboratory rather than the office?"

There was a silence as Yuugi stared, almost incredulous, before he shifted his gaze to Kisara, who looked equally confused. "I -- sure, we can meet him wherever he wants to meet, but what experiment is--"

"We don't need to interrupt him if he's in the middle of something important," Kisara began, accidentally interrupting Yuugi, who looked as if he disagreed with Kisara's point, but nonetheless nodded in agreement. "We can--"

"Fantastic," Natsuki interrupted cheerily, and Yuugi made a soft noise of frustration as he shoved his hands into his pockets, looking defeated. "Should I send him down now, Isono-san? " And Natsuki hung up the phone before getting to her feet, clasping her hands together as she offered a beaming smile toward the two teenagers across the desk from her. "What a lucky day, Seto-sama seems to be in a good mood."

"Is he often in a bad mood?" Kisara murmured under her breath to Yuugi, who gave her something of a sympathetic look, because the answer to her question was, unfortunately, yes.

"Lucky us," Yuugi said dryly, taking half a step backward as Natsuki came out from behind the desk, sighing to himself as she began to lead them both toward the main elevator of Kaiba Corporation. What was Kaiba Seto planning . . . "What sort of experiment is he running, Natsuki-san?" Yuugi asked as they paused outside the elevator, waiting as Natsuki scanned her employee key card. 

"Oh, something he has been working on for the last few months," Natsuki said, stepping aside as the elevator opened, signaling Kisara and Yuugi inside with a warm smile. "I am certain you'll love it."


	4. ADVANCEMENT.

**CHAPTER FOUR: ADVANCEMENT.**

_Curiosity is a fuel that powers the engine of human advancement._

Keigo Higashino.

* * *

"Is this truly the best use of time right now, Seto-sama?"

Isono's tone sounded tired, but accepting that whatever answer Seto delivered was likely not going to be the one he wanted to hear. 

"There's nothing I can do for the city right now that my engineers aren't already doing, I would just get in the way," Seto said distractedly, his eyes trained on the computer screen as he carefully adjusted the single line of code necessary to perfect the holographic image he had been working on for the last six months. His employees were delivering solar-powered portable generators across the city as quickly as his company could manufacture them, the hospitals were online, and essential services were able to be sustained until the city repaired the electrical grid. Truly, there was nothing that _he_ , personally, could do... despite all of the governmental screeching to the contrary. "Besides, this is almost complete."

"And what is this, exactly?" Now, his tone shifted from exasperated to curious, as he moved to Seto's side to look at the screen, setting aside the clipboard he had been trying to get Seto to look at for the last twenty minutes. "An update to your duel disk technology?"

"Yes, and no. A virtual reality simulator, designed to assist in perfecting your duel strategy. I'm finishing the final touches on the holographic imaging improvements." Seto took a step away from the computer before leaving the room, stepping out into the testing area of the laboratory. Isono looked faintly nervous as the teenager walked into the center of the room, with no protective gear. Indeed, Seto was wearing a button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up and slacks, unusually casual for him. It was only after a moment that Isono noticed he had a small black device near his eyes that looked as if it was attached to his face -- but Seto but he didn't look concerned as he called out, "Press enter, Isono."

"What is going to happen when I press enter, Seto-sama?" Isono asked warily, not yet pressing the button.

"The building will explode," Seto responded flatly, looking annoyed with Isono's perceived lack of trust in Seto's judgment at running whatever program Seto had been working on. "Just press the damn button."

There was only a moment of hesitation before Isono reached out to press the enter button. The holographic imagers attached to the walls suddenly lit into light, and the Blue Eyes White Dragon came into view . . . but as Seto watched the image carefully, it felt _different_. It took up space in the room, which shuddered as the dragon moved toward Seto, emitting a soft growl which reverberated against the metal walls. His breath caught, as it frequently did, when his most loyal servant made its appearance... but Seto tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing, as he reached out a hand to _touch_ the dragon. 

It felt smooth and cool to the touch, but bursting with power... a crackling energy that seemed to transfer from the Blue Eyes' snout through Seto's hand. For half a moment, it reminded him of when he touched Critias . . . the ancient power that seemed to flow through him and connect with his soul. If such a thing were possible, anyway. There was a recognition, between Blue Eyes and Seto. They existed within the same space together, and the dragon exhaled a warm breath before stretching out its wings, nearly brushing against the thick bullet-proof glass that separated Seto and Isono.

"It works," Seto said after a moment or two, allowing his hand to drop . . . and a rare grin appearing on his features. "The interface works."

"What, exactly, works?" Isono's voice reverberated along the room as he shifted to using the PA system installed in the control center. "It looks incredible, Seto-sama, but--"

"The technology is interfacing with my brain, creating a neural-link between the hologram and my mind," Seto said in a breath, taking half a step backward to admire his handiwork. The Dragon followed Seto's line of sight -- every step Seto took, the Dragon watched. And even more incredibly, Seto hadn't programmed the Dragon to do it; instead, the program operated on what Seto's mind _expected_ to happen. And in Seto's mind, the Dragon was ready and waiting to assist, no matter what Seto needed in that time. They were a team, and the Dragon was waiting for its partner to make the first move. "It's reacting to my thoughts, not to a set series of pre-programmed animations."

There was a silence before Isono's voice echoed through the chamber again, his tone a perfect mix between worried and exasperated. "What would have happened to you if this backfired?"

"Nothing great is achieved without risk," Seto said dismissively, crossing his arms with satisfaction. "And I've accomplished the next wave in virtual reality technology. I can create anything, now." _Including the perfect simulation to hone my own_ _techniques_ , Seto thought to himself, but he pushed it aside to examine the Dragon carefully. Would it react to his commands without saying a word? Was the interface that complete? "Advance the next phase in the experiment," Seto said after a moment, shifting his weight to glance over his shoulder at the empty space behind him. "Call something. I don't care what it is."

"Seto-sama--"

"Make it something with less than 3000 ATK so I can test the basics," Seto continued, as if Isono hadn't attempted to deter him from his plan. And Seto heard a long-suffering sigh before the holographic imagers jumped to life once more, and the Red Eyes Black Dragon materialized in front of Seto. The dragon's dark scales glinted in the imaginary sunlight, and when the Red Eyes exhaled, Seto could _feel_ the hot breath of crackling energy that was desperate to escape. Desperate to prove itself, desperate to _attack_. And Seto felt the familiar jolt of adrenaline run through his system at being faced with a powerful enemy . . . but the hammering of his heart in his chest was not because of an insurmountable foe, but because he knew he was about to win.

The Blue Eyes White Dragon behind him emitted a growl that seemed to run through his system; a connection that seemed to echo through Seto's mind. He could _feel_ the Dragon behind him yearning to attack. He could _feel_ the desperation to defend, and the pumping of his heart in his chest was echoed by the Dragon's sense of poise, grace, and _certainty_ in the result of what was about to occur.

 _Send it to hell_ , Seto commanded, the thought echoing within his mind . . . and without another moment of hesitation, the Blue Eyes White Dragon spread its wings and launched itself forward, the blue-white energy crackling within its mouth as it unleashed the Burst Stream of Destruction, which plowed through the defenseless Red Eyes Black Dragon, dissolving it into a shattered image as the hologram vanished from the temporary playing field. The Blue Eyes White Dragon landed soundly on the ground behind him, and Seto exhaled abruptly, a rare laugh escaping as he turned to look up at the Dragon, appreciative of both its work, and his own. But before Seto could say anything, a different voice echoed over the PA system -- 

"Kaiba-kun? Are you alright?" 

Yuugi's voice echoed across the testing area, and Seto glanced toward the glass enclosure to see Yuugi (expression concerned), but his attention was soon focused on the young woman standing next to him. There was no mistaking her features. She had long silvery-white hair and seemed to be wearing a loose sweater -- surely borrowed from Anzu, though Seto couldn't seem to remember or care if that was one of her outfits. Her eyes met his, but she seemed (rightfully so) to be more preoccupied with the Dragon that rested behind him. Which made sense . . . in Kisara's time, she was the only one who had access to such power.

 _Not here,_ Seto thought to himself grimly, before he decided to respond to Yuugi's concern. "The testing field is safe," he said easily, sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he inclined his head toward the Blue Eyes White Dragon, who exhaled in a huff in response. "Come down to see for yourself. Isono, you aren't needed," he added, watching as Yuugi and Kisara both left the safety of the glass enclosure, leaving Isono to sigh to himself in resigned acceptance that Seto was just going to do whatever he wanted to do for the day. "I'll escort them out once we're finished."

It only took a few moments before Yuugi appeared onto the floor of the testing field . . . and to Seto's mild satisfaction, he seemed hesitant to approach Seto with the Blue Eyes White Dragon behind him, seemingly ready to attack. Kisara, on the other hand, quickly crossed the field to move past Yuugi, stopping only a few feet away to stare up at the Dragon, before shifting her gaze to Seto, almost . . . scrutinizing him. The gaze made Seto's skin prickle, somewhat uncomfortable, even though some portion of him found her . . . familiar. It reminded him of when they ran into each other in the Ancient World -- a fabrication, but what had she said? _I have a feeling we will meet again one day_.

Seto had been entirely prepared to bluntly tell both Kisara and Yuugi that he had little interest in embarking on whatever journey this meant . . . but now that he was faced with Kisara ( _properly_ , this time, without the guise of the Ancient World, or Bakura hunting them down, or the chaos of the world collapsing around them), something inside Seto prevented him from doing so. It was frustrating, but Seto had always listened to his intuition. And, for some reason, his intuition told him that Kisara was the key to moving forward.

And, potentially, to finding _him_.

"How did you do this?" Kisara asked after a long moment, turning her attention to Seto. She didn't look afraid, but she also didn't look entirely comfortable . . . and once Yuugi caught up to her side, she glanced between Yuugi and Seto and the Dragon, almost lost for words at what was before her. "How did you summon it?"

"It isn't real," Seto said after a moment, turning to look up at the Dragon, relatively nonplussed with the Dragon's presence. And, as Kisara moved closer to the Dragon, the Dragon ducked down its head to stare into her eyes . . . but as Kisara reached out to touch it, her hand passed directly through its snout. "It's a hologram; an image projected from my mind. I called it into existence because I envisioned it."

"Your _mind?_ " Yuugi echoed, sounding impressed as he turned his attention toward the Dragon as well. Yuugi may not understand how, exactly, Seto had accomplished such a thing, but Yuugi was familiar with how the technology worked . . . and Seto could see in Yuugi's gaze that he could see the difference, even if he wasn't wearing the new incarnation of the duel disk technology. "How did you manage to do that?" And Yuugi paused before he turned to look at Seto, his brow furrowing. "Is this what you've been doing for the last--"

"What I've been doing is irrelevant, both because you wouldn't understand it and I've already accomplished it," Seto said dismissively, turning his attention toward Kisara and Yuugi, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And as flattering as this is, we aren't here to talk about my achievements." And Seto reached up to touch his temple, pressing a button on the small device. The hologram of the Blue Eyes White Dragon vanished instantly, and Seto unhooked the device from around his ear, shaking his head slightly. The device felt warm to the touch . . . something he would need to fix in later incarnations, but it wasn't a bad start, for an initial test run. "We're here to talk about you." And his gaze shifted from the device in his hand to Kisara, who turned her attention toward him, but remained silent. "How are you here?"

"I don't know," Kisara said after a moment, glancing toward Yuugi before returning her gaze to Seto, her jawline firm. She seemed to be summoning . . . something, to speak to him. Bravery, maybe? But she didn't ask him any questions, which bothered him, on some level. Just what had Yuugi already told her? And what did he have left to explain? "But I do know that I was meant to come here, I can . . . feel it." And she looked toward where the Blue Eyes White Dragon hologram had been moments before, her gaze softening into some sort of saddened understanding. "I would not have been brought here otherwise."

"The connection with the ancient world should have been destroyed when we laid the Sennen Items to rest," Yuugi said after a moment, crossing his arms over his chest in thought as he looked between Kisara and Seto, his brow furrowing. "So whatever . . . or _whoever_ brought you here shouldn't be able to access any of the dark magic that probably would've brought you here in the first place. Right?" Yuugi added, looking toward Seto, his expression holding some level of confusion. "That was what the Ceremonial Duel was supposed to do; it was supposed to put an end to this."

"I had nothing to do with the duel." But even Seto couldn't muster the level of venom and irritation that he wanted to put into the words as he spoke them, because Yuugi (annoyingly) was correct. There was no explanation, logical or otherwise, as to why Kisara was here. Instead, his brain was buzzing, rushing to calculate any and every possibility that could explain why Kisara was here in Domino City, and not . . . well, in permanent rest. As he thought, his eyes shifted back to the device in his hand, and he was struck with a sudden idea. 

It would require buying into Yuugi's idea; that something was happening outside the realm of logic. But Yuugi, so far, had proven he was correct. And by now, Seto had long since learned that, sometimes, you simply needed to believe in the impossible for the probable to make itself known.

"Play out the scenario. Your dream," Seto said, shifting his attention to Yuugi, who looked toward Seto with a blink. "Yours was on the pier. You went there, and found Kisara, but you didn't hear her voice, in your dream. You heard--"

"Atem," Yuugi finished, looking a little confused. "Right, but mou hitori no boku wasn't at the pier, and I didn't hear him when I was waiting."

"I found Yuugi trying to find my way from the beach," Kisara said after a moment, picking up the story where Yuugi left off -- confused at what Seto was talking about, but nonetheless trying to be helpful. "I woke up there, but I don't remember how I got there. I remember the battle in Khemet, and . . . " She paused, there, and Seto didn't need her to finish the sentence to know what she last remembered. A powerful sadness suddenly resided within his chest, permeating his entire being for a handful of seconds, before Seto forced it down to continue listening to Kisara speak. "I remember seeing nothing but darkness, and then I woke up to the sound of the water."

"In my dream, Atem told me to find you, because you would know why, Kaiba-kun," Yuugi said after a moment, speaking slowly as he connected the dots. There was a brief silence before Yuugi seemed to connect the pieces that Seto had already moved, and the duelist looked toward Seto, his gaze suddenly brightening in a look of understanding. "You said your dream was in Egypt, Kaiba-kun."

There was a pause before Seto put the device back on, hooking it over his hear and placing the holographic readers against his face. "I recreated the dream I had last night after our conversation," he continued, ignoring the stunned expressions on both Yuugi and Kisara's faces. Kisara had an excuse, to be shocked at such a thing, but Yuugi should know better than to be surprise at what Seto could accomplish. "Run Simulation Seventeen," Seto commanded after pressing the button against his temple.

" _Seventeen_?" Yuugi repeated, as the holographic imagers in the room lit up, and the world around them began to construct, turning from the off-white walls of the testing area into a landscape that was beginning to form before their very eyes. "How many simulations have you created with this thing?"

"What does that matter?" Seto muttered, annoyed with the useless question as a fabricated wind suddenly whipped around them. He crossed his arms, seemingly unbothered with the experience, though Yuugi and Kisara both took steps closer to him . . . as if Kaiba Seto was going to be able to protect them from whatever was going to happen. Foolish, really, considering he had already established none of this was real, but it _felt_ real . . . which, he imagined, was the whole point. "You were the one who told me to find a hobby," Seto added, which caused Yuugi to toss him an exasperated look. "So here you are. My hobby."

"I'm sorry, Kaiba-kun, but we don't really have the best track record when it comes to virtual reality, and I really don't want to be trapped in a suit of armor again," Yuugi said under his breath, low enough that only Seto could hear it -- and the quip caused a slight twitch of Seto's lips, _almost_ a smile, but he said nothing in response.

Yuugi had endured horrors and shouldered burdens that would make men twice his age collapse. He would be fine.

Dust and sand settled into place around their feet, and a desert night sky stretched overhead. As the three looked around, all they could see for miles was sand . . . nothingness, as the desert stretched on into oblivion. But within walking distance was an ancient temple, half-buried into a sandstone cliff . . . a familiar one, the broken entranceway to where the Pharaoh of the Sennen Items had been laid to rest, six months prior. But before Seto or Yuugi could say anything, they both turned at the sound of Kisara's voice.

"You are incredible," Kisara breathed, turning to Seto, her eyes wide in wonderment. She stooped to touch the sand, but her fingers went through it. Seto was the only one wearing the device, and so only his mind was connected to the image in a way that would make this feel realistic. Still, that didn't seem to bother Kisara as she straightened up, turning on her heel to look around, wrapping her arms around herself. "You -- we were in that room, and now we are under the stars . . . this must be some form of magic, Seto."

 _Too familiar_ , Seto thought to himself, mildly irked at the casual usage of his first name . . . but he didn't bother correcting it, instead shrugging a shoulder as he turned his attention to the temple, his eyes narrowing slightly. "It isn't magic, it's technology," he said after a moment, choosing to ignore the compliment in favor of correcting her. "I'm recreating a memory."

"Whose?" The question came not from Kisara, but Yuugi -- his tone quiet, almost as if he was attempting to avoid provoking what he knew was going to be a dismissive response.

"Mine." The response was flat. The wind whistled past . . . cold, in the desert night, but Seto was the only one who felt it. "I was here, in the dream. And I heard Kisara's voice, telling me that I needed to defend myself against my father." He paused, there, before he turned to look at Kisara, his expression impassive, his tone direct and to the point. "Do you remember telling me that?"

"I . . . no." She looked a little startled, at the question, before she took a few steps closer, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked up at Seto, biting her bottom lip in thought. The scrutiny, again, made him feel uncomfortable, but he didn't look away as he waited for her to figure out what she wanted to say. "Do you mean Akhenaden?" she asked finally, tone slightly uncertain. Navigating difficult waters, in an attempt to make Seto comfortable, which was something that bothered him, though he wasn't entirely sure why. "Or do you mean . . . "

"Who else was in your dream, Kaiba-kun?" Yuugi asked, picking up where Kisara left off, and Seto did not miss the look of gratitude Kisara sent Yuugi, which bothered him. Clearly, discussions had been had about him before they entertained his patience . . . what Yuugi had told her was unknown to him, but it was clearly more than Seto would have told her himself. "Were the rest of us there? Or did you only hear Kisara-san?"

Seto was silent for a moment before he exhaled slowly, reaching up to his temple to press the button again. "I heard her voice, near the end of the dream," he said, his tone devoid of emotion as his eyes remained on the temple ahead of them. "There was only one other person there." The desert hologram did not break, but as Seto spoke, the image began to shift. "Simulation One, Mark Twenty-Six," he commanded.

A figure flickered into existence, roughly twenty feet away from them. Seto did not turn around as he heard a sharp intake of breath from both Yuugi and Kisara. Instead, Seto's eyes remained upon the figure in front of them. It was nearly an identical version of Yuugi, but the figure in front of them stood taller, somehow, and carried himself with a regal pride that was certainly not learned, but born. His hand was on his hip, a coat draped over his shoulders. His deck was in a holster attached to his hip. Noticeably absent was the Sennen Puzzle . . . but he didn't need it, in order to be exactly who he was.

And even though Atem was dressed in modern clothing, he looked perfectly at home in the middle of the land he was destined to rule from birth.

"Kaiba," Atem said evenly, with all of the annoying boastful arrogance that wasn't required for a normal conversation. "What are you doing here?"

Before Seto answered, he heard the sound of feet against sand as Yuugi suddenly moved forward. And Seto immediately lifted his arm, which hit Yuugi across the chest, stopping him in his tracks. What Yuugi planned on doing, Seto didn't really know. Talk to Atem, touch him, beg him to return. It didn't really matter, because as Yuugi ran into Seto's arm, Seto spoke, his tone even, "He isn't real, Yuugi."

"But -- "

"Touching him will only destroy the hologram." And, indeed, Atem hadn't reacted at the sight of Yuugi or Kisara -- completely out of character, for the former spirit. Instead, his focus was on Seto, eyes piercing as he looked his rival over, critical. "I've had this dream before," Seto continued, his tone slightly reluctant as he watched Atem. "Multiple times, for six months. The first time I heard Kisara's voice was the night of the electrical storm."

"You've been having this dream for _months_ and didn't tell me?" Yuugi asked, his tone taking on a surprising frustration as he pushed Seto's arm aside to take a few more steps forward . . . but, Seto noticed, he wasn't attempting to touch Atem, seemingly taking his word for it that the hologram would only be destroyed by disrupting the image. "Why?" he asked, turning to stare at Seto, his gaze imploring. "Why wouldn't you--"

"What else does he say, in the dream?" Kisara interrupted suddenly, moving to Seto's side, her tone more patient than Yuugi's. "Do you speak with him?"

There was a silence before Seto turned his attention back to Atem, who seemed to be waiting patiently for the answer to his question. "He asks me what I'm doing here," Seto said after a moment, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the hologram of his rival stand in front of the tomb that now held his corpse. "Every time, I say nothing. And, eventually, when I wait for him to speak, he says--"

"No amount of dwelling on the past is going to change your future, Kaiba," Atem interrupted, his tone shifting from brazen arrogance to a tempered understanding, and the Pharaoh took a few steps forward -- again, ignoring Yuugi and Kisara, but attention focused directly on Seto. "You need to accept who you are, and move on."

"I know who I am," Seto responded evenly, lacking the frustrated emotion that usually took place in the dream. Reenacting a nightmare in front of Yuugi and Kisara was already demoralizing enough without adding how unsettled this conversation usually made him. "I don't need someone like you to give me an instructive lesson on introspection."

"You know who you are, but you have not accepted it, Kaiba." And Atem reached up with his right hand to tap his temple lightly, a light smirk gracing his features. "You have the same problem that I do; too many memories, with no idea where to place them." And the Pharaoh dropped his hand to his side, tilting his head slightly. "When are you going to accept your destiny?"

There was a silence before Seto spoke, emotionless. "The dream ends there." 

It was half a lie. Some nights, there was a duel. Some nights, there was not. Simulation One, Mark Twenty Six was the variation of the dream he had had the night of the electrical storm. Mark Twenty Two involved Atem dressed as the ancient Pharaoh. Mark Sixteen was the Pharaoh arguing with his High Priest, but Seto felt the confrontation just as easily as if he were the one who was having the argument. He had taken the time to transcribe each encounter for . . . what purpose, exactly, Seto had no idea. But he felt it was important to remember, to craft them, to add to his library of simulations in case they were needed one day.

There was a shuddered breath, and Seto glanced to his left to see Yuugi hurriedly wiping his eyes, turning away from the hologram of Atem, but saying nothing. Seto almost asked if Yuugi wanted him to terminate the simulation, but decided against it. If it were him, he wouldn't want Yuugi to assume such weakness. Instead, Seto glanced toward Kisara, who was watching the holographic image of Atem with some trepidation. He considered allowing her the moment of thought before he decided to ask, "What is it?"

"The dream had nothing to do with your father," Kisara said after a moment, turning to look at Seto with a slight frown, confusion etched into her features. "The Pharaoh said nothing of your family, only . . . well, yourself."

"He, annoyingly, did that frequently." The duelist paused before he raised his hand to his temple, though he hesitated before terminating the hologram. He didn't look toward Yuugi, in case he still required some measure of privacy, but as a courtesy: "I'm terminating the program. Prepare yourself; it can be disorientating."

It truly wasn't, but it would allow Yuugi the moment to say goodbye.

The scenery around them broke down, the image of Atem and the temple shattering, revealing the white empty room that was the testing facility for the holographic imaging technology. It took a moment before Seto blinked his eyes back into focus, and he removed the headpiece, pocketing it swiftly. After assessing himself, he turned to Kisara, who seemed to be fine . . . but Kisara's attention was on the King of Games.

Yuugi was facing away from them, his shoulders quivering slightly as he seemed to be getting a grip . . . and Seto inhaled sharply before saying to Kisara (curtly, but not unkindly): "You can wait upstairs."

Kisara, initially, seemed inclined to argue . . . but she seemed to take Seto's instruction for what it was -- a request for privacy -- and moved back toward the stairs, which led to the elevator. Before she left, she gently touched Yuugi's shoulder -- a brief moment of comfort, before the young woman vanished up the stairs. 

Seto waited until he was certain she was out of earshot before he spoke.

"I'm not going to waste my time with apologizing for hiding this from you." There was a pause before Seto folded his arms, exhaling slowly. "It was personal, and I . . . "

"I could have _helped_ , Kaiba-kun," Yuugi interrupted suddenly, turning on his heel -- and Seto stopped speaking to allow Yuugi his frustration . . . mostly out of respect, for his rival, but also because Yuugi would not hear his idea on how to proceed without getting this out of his system, first. "But instead you holed yourself up in here for _months_. Jounouchi-kun and I were afraid you were--"

"That I was what, Yuugi, going insane?" Seto interrupted sharply, and to his satisfaction, Yuugi fell silent. "Heartbroken, devastated, unable to move on? Do you honestly believe me to be that weak?"

"Why is everything about _weakness_? Grief isn't _weakness--_ "

"Don't speak to me about grief, Yuugi, when I've grown up with death as a playmate." His tone took on a new warning, and an uncomfortable sensation was beginning to form in his chest. A heavy weight, signaling . . . what, anxiety? Or sadness? An odd mixture of both? But Seto ignored it to roll his eyes, an exhale escaping his lips as a small scoff. "I didn't show you this to make you upset, or cause an argument. I showed you this because when we work together, we make a decent team."

That caused Yuugi to stop, and the duelist stared at Seto, his head tilting slightly in confusion. His eyes were red-rimmed, clearly obvious that he had recently been crying. Some part of Seto's heart tugged, _slightly_ , in guilt at causing that to happen, but he ignored it, waiting for Yuugi's response.

"A team?" Yuugi repeated, almost warily. "A team to do what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Seto responded, his eyes narrowing, annoyed that Yuugi wasn't seeing the _point_. "We have to go back."

It took a few moments, for the words _we have to go back_ to sink in. And it frustrated Seto, because Yuugi (despite all evidence to the contrary) was smart. _Intelligent_ , really, in ways that Seto was not. Yuugi was capable of great love, and belief, and _faith_ , and for Seto to reach the conclusion before Yuugi did was almost unbelievable, to him. But soon, Yuugi enough -- 

"You want to go to -- _you_ want to go to Egypt?" Yuugi asked, rubbing his eyes quickly to rid his face of the last handful of tears, sniffing quickly. "Are you serious? You -- you can't just up and leave, the city--"

"What other option is there?" Seto interrupted evenly, watching Yuugi critically. And when Yuugi didn't immediately respond, Seto rolled his eyes slightly, his attention shifting to Kisara's silhouette near the elevator. "Something is happening, Yuugi," he said finally, the same tightness in his chest increasing as he noticed Kisara watching the two of them, even though she didn't hear what they were saying. "And as much as I don't want to admit it, and I hate admitting it, the idiot is right." He didn't bother clarifying who the _idiot_ was; instead, Seto continued, his jaw clenching slightly as he spoke. "I can't move forward until I settle the past. I thought that meant burying Gozaburo in the pit where he belongs, but there has to be reason why _she_ is here."

"What reason could that be?" Yuugi asked, his tone slightly frustrated as he ran his hands over his face, trying to get rid of the tears that stubbornly clung to his face. "How could any of this be--"

"I don't know." It wasn't a rude interruption, but a practical one. Yuugi was useless to him if he began spiraling into whatever depths of emotion he wanted to spiral into. No, he needed to focus, and so Seto continued bluntly, "Nothing can defeat us, if we work together," he added, shifting his gaze toward Yuugi, who drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Will you help me?"

It was a cheap shot, to deliberately play on Yuugi's weaknesses; his absurd need to help every single person that required it. But as odd as the words felt in his mouth, Seto felt that he meant what he said. Nothing defeated them, if they worked together. Not Pegasus. Not Malik. Not Dartz. Not Bakura. Not Zorc. Every single time Kaiba Seto and Mutou Yuugi set aside their differences and truly stood together, they defeated whatever was in their path. If one of them fell, the other would continue toward their goal. And if they had any hope of unraveling what was happening to their world and city, they needed to work together to do so.

"Of course I will," Yuugi said finally, and Seto felt his shoulders relax half an inch as the duelist offered him a tired smile. He looked exhausted, and Seto could hardly blame him. "Obviously, yeah, sure, I'm -- what do we need to do? What _are_ we going to do? The Tomb is destroyed, and -- . . . and Kisara-san doesn't even have a passport, how is she going to get on a plane?"

"I'll handle that." Seto waved a hand dismissively, his fingers flicking through the air before he crossed his arms again. "The least of our concerns is getting Kisara into a country that--"

"Have you done this before?" Yuugi interrupted, his eyebrows arching slightly, which prompted a roll of Seto's eyes. "Do you sneak people across country borders without passports frequently?"

"Of course not," Seto said shortly, annoyed with the presumption that he was an expert on illegal activity. "The larger priority is deciding where to go, and doing it in a manner that won't be detected. We have no idea who the enemy is."

"Does there have to be an enemy?" Yuugi asked tiredly, following Seto as he began to move toward the staircase, keeping pace with his fellow duelist. "Something could happen without a bad guy lurking in the wings."

"When has that ever happened?" Seto said underneath his breath. What a useless sentiment. . . but as the two duelists arrived at the top of the stairs, greeted by Kisara, he elected to change the subject. "You can text me when you figure out what to do with your band of idiots," Seto continued, moving toward the chair that had been positioned in the corner, picking up the coat he had folded over the back. "I assume you're going to tell them everything."

"I owe them the truth," Yuugi said mildly, unbothered by the "band of idiots" comment. Used to the dismissive attitude, surely. "When do you want to leave?"

"As soon as possible." But Seto paused before he shrugged into his coat, his eyes shifting toward Kisara, who met his gaze with a slight frown. Something inside of him was reluctant to leave without . . . without what, exactly. Talking to her? Explaining the dream? There was no real way to say _we should talk_ without actually saying the words, until Seto landed on a convenient excuse. "Are you staying at the Game Shop? Or with Anzu?" 

The question was asked both of Kisara and Yuugi; both looked surprised at the questions, but for likely different reasons. Yuugi was the one who elected to respond first. "You can stay at the Game Shop for however long you like, Kisara," Yuugi said in reassurance, earning a slight smile in his direction. "It may be a little cramped, but--"

"The Manor has seventeen bedrooms," Seto interrupted evenly, turning to shut down the computer system. The lights dimmed abruptly at the touch of a button, and once Seto was certain the system was off, he glanced toward Kisara and Yuugi, who were both looked at him uncertainly. "It's also safer than the Game Shop. Assuming that something is lurking in the dark," he added, sliding his hands into his pockets to face Yuugi and Kisara. "You can stay there. Temporarily."

Kisara was silent before she glanced at Yuugi. Uncertain, Seto noticed, to say yes -- but at Yuugi's shrug (indicating that it made no difference where Kisara stayed, so long as she was comfortable), Kisara offered Seto a warm smile, crossing her arms loosely over her chest. "If you do not mind, Seto. Then I would accept."

"It doesn't make a difference to me." And, with that, Seto brushed past them both toward the elevator, speaking as he walked. "You'll both be locked down here unless you take this ride with me; the elevator doesn't move without a keycard."

 _Atem had better be right about this_ , Seto thought to himself with a slight grimace, scanning his card quickly (and, subtly, holding the door so Yuugi and Kisara had time to follow him in). _This was supposed to be finished._


	5. BRILLIANCE.

**CHAPTER FIVE: BRILLIANCE.**

_“It is impossible for a star to shine and not get noticed, even in the dark.”_

Matshona Dhliwayo.

* * *

The Game Shop now had minimal power, thanks to a portable solar powered generator that Kaiba Seto had given Yuugi on his way out of the Kaiba Corporation. He had offered absolutely no instruction on how to use it, but thankfully, Yuugi had invited over his friends to discuss the new developments . . . and Jounouchi and Honda combined figured out how to attach it to the outside of the house, and plug in the essentials so that the Game Shop had some functionality.

The presence of the generator, though, had ignited some level of conversation . . . mostly around the fact that Kaiba had given Yuugi a generator in the first place. And so, after about half an hour of talking, the group was now relatively caught up, which begged the immediate question of:

"So we're going to Egypt?"

Jounouchi's tone sounded incredulous. The duelist was sprawled on the couch, in Yuugi's living room, his arms stretched along the back. Honda was seated in a chair by the television set, and Anzu was perched on the arm of the couch that Jounouchi was taking up far too much space on. 

Yuugi was seated on a cushion on the floor, and he gave a bit of a shrug. "Kaiba-kun is having these dreams for a reason. I don't think he would have told me about them if he didn't think there was a greater purpose."

"Yeah, and about that, how come he's been sitting on that info for six months?" asked Honda, his brow furrowing. "For all we know, this could've been brewing for eons."

"Are you _really_ surprised that Kaiba didn't call us after having a weird dream? Seriously?" Anzu said dryly, and Yuugi's lips twitched as he fought down the urge to laugh, because Anzu had a point. "We're lucky he told us at all, let alone asked us to help him."

"Yeah, except he didn't really ask _us_ , did he?" Jounouchi pointed out, shifting on the couch to lean forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "He asked Yuugi."

"But we're going, right?" Honda turned on his chair slightly to look at Yuugi, arching his eyebrows. "I mean, we're not letting you go by yourself."

"I don't think Kaiba-kun cares who goes, and I think he's going to go whether or not anybody goes with him," Yuugi said after a moment's pause, shifting his weight as he leaned back on his hands, frowning to himself. "But I also don't know if all of us should go... something is happening, and there's a reason why Kisara-san showed up in Domino City."

"Where is she, anyway?" Jounouchi tilted his head slightly to glance back toward the hallway where Yuugi and Suguroku's respective rooms. "I thought we were gonna be formally introduced."

"She's with Kaiba-kun -- he volunteered, I didn't just drop her off," Yuugi continued quickly, sensing an immediate protest from Anzu, who settled back onto the arm of the couch, satisfied with the answer. "Besides, they need to talk, and Kaiba-kun wasn't going to do that in front me. I already pushed my luck today with what he showed me."

"What he should've shown you in the first place," Jounouchi grumbled, but he seemed to let that part go. . . or, so Yuugi thought, before his best friend continued. "What do you think he's gonna do? He's not exactly the nicest guy on the block. Or the most sensitive. Or the most--"

"We get it, Kaiba isn't a hugger," Honda interrupted with a roll of his eyes, waving a hand dismissively to ward off Jounouchi's complaint. "But he's not going to hurt her. He's not a bad guy, he's just--"

"An ass," Jounouchi interrupted flatly. "Would you want to have Kaiba be your guide into the new world if you woke up from being dead? 'cause I sure as hell wouldn't want to wake up to that."

"I think he's earned the benefit of the doubt, Jounouchi-kun," Anzu said, her tone tinged with exasperation. "Hasn't he?" she asked, the question now being directed toward Yuugi, who pursed his lips together in thought. "I mean, he trusted you enough to tell you... what do you think, Yuugi?"

"Mmm..." The noise was thoughtful, as Yuugi's breath escaped in a sigh. "He told me that he needed to move on from the past. Not Gozaburo, but what happened in Egypt. And part of that past is Kisara-san. Whatever he decide to tell or or not tell her is up to him. But more importantly, Kaiba-kun is our friend. He's shown up whenever we've needed him to show up." Yuugi shrugged, the following comment coming easily, without hesitation. "I would trust him with my life." _And_ , Yuugi added silently, _I have_.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't trust the guy, I'm just saying there's more sympathetic people to drop someone who's coming back to life on," Jounouchi said, his tone slightly defensive once he saw he was outnumbered. "I mean, the spirit in the Sennen Puzzle turned out alright, why?"

"Because he was the Pharaoh who saved all of humanity?" Honda suggested.

"Because he's a naturally good person that didn't need someone to play babysitter?" Anzu continued, her tone wry, clearly meaning to provoke a reaction.

"No -- well, yeah, but because he had Yuugi to rely on." And Jounouchi waved a hand at Yuugi, who looked a little dubious of Jounouchi's claim. "Right? C'mon, Yuugi, you've got to admit you have better bedside manner than someone like Kaiba."

"That might be true, but I'm not connected to Kisara's past like Kaiba-kun is," Yuugi said, his expression shifting from dubious to sympathetic. "I can't give her whatever answers she might be seeking . . . and besides," Yuugi added, shrugging slightly. "If Kisara is going to be safe with anyone, it's probably him. He has an entire fortress for a house."

* * *

The driver of the vehicle Seto called to bring him home was wise not to ask who Kisara was. But as Seto slid into the back seat of the vehicle after her and closed the door of his own accord, he knew that he couldn't escape the inevitable . . . _questions_. The questions concerning who he was, and what he was doing here, and what _she_ was doing here . . . and Seto silently cursed his impulsive act of supposed kindness, in offering Kisara a place to stay. The woman wasn't his responsibility, but something inside him told him that was not true.

Hence, Seto supposed, the second awkward car ride he had taken in as many days.

"Yuugi told me that you had a brother."

Seto looked up from his phone to glance toward Kisara, who was looking out of the window with interest. And Seto considered the statement before his gaze returned to his phone, speaking evenly. "Mokuba. He should be at the Manor, when we arrive."

" _Manor_." The repeated word caused Seto to look up from his phone again, to meet Kisara's eyes -- and the young woman offered him half a smile, her nose wrinkling slightly. "Does it really have seventeen bedrooms?"

"Or so." Seto shrugged slightly before returning to his phone, texting quickly -- to doublecheck that Mokuba was, indeed, home. "I've never bothered counting." Finishing his text, Seto locked his phone, sliding it into his pocket to continue the conversation without the distraction of the device. "But it makes more sense for you to stay there than staying wherever Yuugi was having you sleep." 

But as Seto finished his sentence, he realized that he had never actually been _inside_ the Game Shop, where Yuugi lived. He had no idea if Yuugi had a spare bedroom, or if he had his own bedroom at all. He had only made it to the front of the store, the last time he had gone . . . and, honestly, Seto was likely banned for life from the facility by Suguroku. Which, all in all, would be a fair punishment, given the last time Seto had ventured to the store had resulted in a hospitalization and a destroyed Blue Eyes White Dragon. 

But rather than dwell on that, Seto soon changed the subject, inclining his head toward the window. "This must be overwhelming. The city."

"No more overwhelming than anything else I've experienced. And I've been fortunate to find friends." And, to her credit, Kisara really did sound nonplussed at riding in a car through a modern world . . . indeed, she seemed unfazed by the whole business, instead turning slightly to face Seto, folding her hands in her lap. "But you're so . . . comfortable, here. This is all normal to you."

"You're expecting something else?" Seto asked, his eyes narrowing slightly, almost confused by the observation. "I've invented half of the technology in this city," he continued. "I'm obviously comfortable with it; I created it."

"It isn't that, it's . . . you look exactly like him." It was said easily, as Kisara averted her eyes to return to looking out of the window, and Seto felt something uncomfortable curl in his chest. The conversation had been expected, but no less uncomfortable. "And it's hard to explain, but you carry the same spirit . . . but different." Finally, Kisara looked back toward Seto, her silvery-white hair framing her face. "You've been torn, and healed."

 _Torn and healed?_ For a moment, Seto simply watched her, his eyes narrowed as he attempted to place her words . . . what did she mean, torn and healed? But his eyes widened slightly as a memory suddenly flickered to life in his mind; Exodia, looming behind Yuugi -- no, _Atem --_ who stood victorious, a hand outstretched in front of him, the Puzzle glinting in a light that wasn't quite there. The Blue Eyes White Dragons, vanished from his side of the field, and his life points had tumbled down to zero without Seto even realizing that the duel was over. But Atem's voice cut through his buzzing mind:

_Kaiba! I will destroy the evil in your heart. Allow me to free your mind!_

The memory left as soon as it came, and Seto shifted in his seat, his tone shifting from even to somewhat defensive, his tone curt. "How much has Yuugi told you?"

"Enough for me to know that Yuugi hasn't told me enough." She didn't seem bothered by the tone, but Kisara's voice lowered into something gentler. "But he speaks kindly of you. That you have a good heart. And I think . . . I _know_ that you are the key to understanding why I am here." And her lips twitched into a faint smile, and Kisara offered Seto a slight shrug. "And even if you are not Seth, I know in my heart you can be trusted. You are not someone in this realm that would hurt me."

There was a silence before Seto settled back into his seat, watching her carefully. Hearing such statements of blind faith were unsettling, but Seto could think of an alternative explanation as to why Kisara could be so comfortable making such a statement. "You could kill me without even using an ounce of the strength that resides within you." His tone was dry. 

"I could." It was a quiet admission, and something flickered in Kisara's eyes -- an acknowledgment, of the power that she held, while also carrying some level of guilt. "But something tells me that the Dragon would hesitate, with you," she added, a fleeting warm smile tossed in his direction before she rested her head against the window, watching the street roll by. "You have a connection to the beast."

"Only hesitate?" Seto repeated, not bothering to put in the effort to sound insulted. His phone buzzed against his chest, and Seto shifted to remove the phone from his pocket, seeing the response from Mokuba confirming that he was, indeed, home. "I am one of the best duelists in the world," Seto continued, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "That likely means nothing to you, but I have a command over the monsters of the game that most don't."

"Including the Blue Eyes White Dragon." There was a pause before Kisara pursed her lips -- clearly thinking to herself of what she wanted to say next, but Seto remained silent to allow her the space to continue if she'd like to do so. "How did you come into its power?" she asked finally, settling on the question she wanted to ask, her brow furrowing. "Not even Seth could wield the power of the Dragon, but you seem to do it easily."

The compliment (however backwards it was) caused his lips to twitch into a faint smirk before he allowed his gaze to return to out the window, seeing where they were. They were roughly five minutes away from the Manor now . . . long enough to tell the story, but short enough to avoid getting into the messier details. "I told myself when I was young that I would wield them, and become a great duelist," Seto said evenly, watching the trees roll by as they headed out of the heart of Domino City. "Yuugi believes every duelist has a card that contains their true power; the heart of a duelist, that resides within it. When all else fails, you place your belief on that single play." He shrugged a shoulder. "He would say that mine was the Blue Eyes White Dragon."

There was a slight silence. "So it has protected you, in battle?"

"Yes." It was said without hesitation, though Seto didn't look toward Kisara as he said the words. "I would rely on it until the end."

Kisara did not have the opportunity to answer, as the car slowly rolled to a stop to pass through the security gate of Kaiba Manor -- and Seto straightened slightly as Kisara craned her neck to look outside, her eyes widening as the large house came into view. "You _live_ here?" Kisara asked, a little stunned as she twisted to look at Seto, who looked slightly amused at the reaction. "This is -- this is a _home_ , in this world? You said seventeen bedrooms, but I thought that--"

"I don't joke," Seto interrupted evenly. _At least, not about this_. 

"Perhaps not, but you did not tell me you live in a _palace_."

"Yuugi neglected to mention that I was wealthy, then," Seto murmured to himself, idly wondering what Yuugi _had_ told her (other than the fact that he, apparently, had a kind heart). But as the car slowed to a stop in front of the Manor and the door opened to allow Seto to step out, he paused to allow Kisara to follow him before he spoke, a bit louder. "You'll be safer here, than anywhere else in Domino City," Seto said as he began up the stairs toward the Manor, Kisara following close behind. "I have a constant security presence, and no one comes in or out without my knowledge. And, at minimum, no one will believe I have a house guest," he added, pausing to press his palm against the stone next to the mahogany entranceway -- an invisible palm reader, which unlocked the doors with a faint click. Without much more hesitation, Seto pushed open the door, allowing Kisara entryway before closing it behind them. 

Seto typically remained in his expansive underground laboratory when home; he rarely spent a large amount of time, here, unless explicitly required. The Corporation was where the majority of his day was spent, and as a result, most of the luxuries accumulated within the Manor were for Mokuba's benefit. Still, as the door locked behind them, Seto felt himself relax half an inch. He hadn't realized he had been tense on the car ride until he was suddenly in a space of relative safety . . . because, like it or not, Kisara's presence likely meant something was coming. And if it had anything to do with the ancient past, it was likely not going to be good.

"I would appreciate discretion, in speaking to Mokuba." It was said evenly; not an order, necessarily, because Seto couldn't stop her from speaking about anything even if he wanted to. But he glanced toward Kisara, his lips pursing together into a slight frown. "I can answer his questions, if he asks them."

"Does he not know who I am?" Kisara asked, tearing her eyes away from the grand staircase that greeted them both to face Seto, her arms at her sides as she looked up at him, brow furrowing. "What are you going to say?"

"Something he won't believe, most likely," Seto said absently, his eyes shifting toward the staircase. "He isn't . . . connected to your world." It was carefully worded, and not entirely the truth -- the vision of the young Egyptian boy who died that looked just like Mokuba was hard to get out of his mind, but even worse was the knowledge that the High Priest and that small child were in no way connected. But Mokuba wasn't cursed with the melding of memories in the way that he was, and for all Seto knew, he was just a normal teenage boy with (relatively) normal teenage boy problems. He endeavored to keep it that way, for as long as possible. "So he wouldn't know who you are, from memory, or vision, or whatever you want to call it."

Kisara was silent for a moment, digesting the information, before she took half a step forward, to fall in line beside Seto properly as she looked up the staircase, too. "Seth did not have a younger brother," she said quietly, echoing his thoughts. "That I knew about, anyway."

"He didn't." It was said shortly, a tone creeping in that Seto honestly didn't mean to show, but he soon abandoned the subject (the inevitable comparisons, the frustrating refusal to just accept that he was his own person, the same attitude that Atem repeatedly attempted to force down his throat when the annoying irritant was still alive) in favor of something much more pleasant. 

The telltale signs of Mokuba being home were becoming apparent; noises of footsteps above them, and sure enough, Mokuba became visible near the top of the stairs, a book in hand as he read. He half considered leaving Mokuba to his homework (or, at least, what looked like homework), but Seto cleared his throat.

The noise caused Mokuba to look up from his book, and his expression immediately turned into a grin . . . but he blinked, at the sight of Kisara, and (respectfully) jogged down the stairs, closing his book. Upon closer inspection, Seto saw that it was not his homework, but some manga volume that Mokuba had been wanting to read for the last week . . . but he resisted the urge to ask, instead inclining his head toward Kisara. "This is--"

"We have company?" Mokuba interrupted, a little dumbfounded as he looked from Kisara to Seto, his brow furrowing. "Since when do we -- " But at a pointed look from Seto, Mokuba immediately turned on his heel back toward Kisara, inclining his head in a slight bow with a sheepish grin. "Aah, sorry -- I'm Mokuba. It's nice to meet you -- ?"

"Kisara," the young woman supplied, looking a little amused -- and she quickly bowed in greeting. Whether she picked that up from watching or if that was how she greeted people in Khemet, Seto had no idea, but Mokuba didn't seem to notice any hesitation or awkwardness in the motion. "My name is Kisara, and thank you for inviting me to your home."

"Uh - sure, you're welcome?" Mokuba straightened up before tossing a look toward Seto that clearly read _what is going on?_ before continuing to speak. "Are you a new intern or something?"

"She knows Yuugi." Seto responded before Kisara could dig herself a hole that Seto could not get out of, and thankfully, Mokuba took Seto's response for exactly what it was; a promise to let him know what was actually going on later. And, as Mokuba didn't protest, Seto continued, moving to hang his coat on the hook near the door. "She has to stay here for the foreseeable future, until a situation is resolved. You should give her a tour and one of the spare bedrooms." And Seto glanced toward Mokuba, a silent _please_ in his expression. 

Thankfully (for the second time), Mokuba immediately turned on the charm, offering Kisara a warm grin before gesturing with a free hand. "Right, sure -- come on, all of the rooms are upstairs, and I can show you where to put your -- do you have any things? -- it's fine, we can figure it out, come on." And without much more prompting, Mokuba began to walk back up the stairs. Kisara soon followed, but not without a parting glance to Seto, who was removing his phone from the pocket of the coat he had hung up -- and soon, both Mokuba and Kisara vanished from sight.

"What a nightmare," Seto murmured under his breath, unlocking his phone with a swipe of his fingers to check his messages. The majority of them could be ignored, save for one.

After Yuugi had called him to let him know that he had found Kisara on the beach, Seto had sent a single text message to Isis Ishtar, instructing her to do a canvass of the tomb of the Pharaoh. At the time, he had no idea why; something inside him told him it was important. It was supposed to be destroyed, and impossible to enter . . . and while Seto was certain it still _was_ , he could think of no better contact in Egypt to guide them on this probable suicide mission into the depths of who knows what than the Ishtars.

Or . . . at least, Isis and Rishid. Seto still didn't trust Malik Ishtar as far as he could throw him.

Seto hesitated before tapping the name on the message, raising the phone to his ear as the call connected. "What did you find?" Seto asked without bothering to say hello, his eyes shifting toward the staircase, to ensure that Kisara and Mokuba were not in earshot.

"Your question will be answered once you respond to my own, Kaiba Seto," came the nonplussed voice of Isis Ishtar, and Seto exhaled into a frustrated scoff before the woman continued, entirely unbothered by Seto's attitude. "Why are you asking?"

"Did your tea leaves not tell you?" The snippish quip was unnecessary, but Seto felt better having delivered it, his eyes fixated on the top of the stairs. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"I have never divined tea leaves, and I do not anticipate starting now." _Frustrating woman_ , Seto seethed to himself, turning on his heel to face the door, silent as Isis continued. "What happened?"

"The same thing that typically happens whenever I speak with you," Seto said, lowering his voice to a frustrated growl. He wasn't entirely sure what it was about Isis Ishtar that brought out the petulant child in him, but her nonplussed _all-knowing_ attitude was absolutely infuriating. "Ghosts in the dark that should stay dead are coming back to life without invitation."

"And you are concerned that the Pharaoh is one of those ghosts?" Annoyingly, Isis did not sound surprised by the revelation. "What has led you to believe this?"

"Kisara is here." There was a silence, at that . . . and Seto waited for . . . what, he wasn't entirely sure. Some sort of divine intervention, or an admission that Isis (as always) knew what was going on? But the woman said nothing, and Seto soon lost his patience in waiting for her to offer guidance. "Did you hear me?"

"I heard you." She sounded thoughtful, but her tone was somewhat grave. "Kisara . . . I know that name, that face . . . " But before Seto could explain, Isis' tone shifted from concerned to knowing. "The woman who came to you in your visions, is that her? And she is in Domino City?"

"She's currently upstairs being given a tour." Seto allowed that to sink in for roughly half a second before continuing, not allowing Isis the room to ask questions. "Is there any available explanation that allows for her to be here, right now, after we put the Sennen Items to rest?" Seto asked, turning on his heel once again to rest his back against the front door of the Manor, his eyes resting on the stairs once more.

"No." The answer was not one that Seto wanted, and he knew that Isis could sense the mounting frustration . . . even from thousands of miles away. "I did as you asked," she continued, and she sounded tired. Belatedly, Seto realized that she likely had not slept, given it was almost six in the morning, in Cairo. "I returned to the tomb, with Malik and Rishid. We are actually still here, in the Valley of the Kings . . . it is a seven hour drive, so--"

"And?" Seto interrupted, his heart suddenly hammering in his chest, because Isis would not bother picking up the phone to tell him anything if the answer could have been texted as a simple _nothing has changed_. And, sure enough, after a moment of pause, Isis continued:

"The Tomb appears to have been broken into . . . the entranceway is open."

Seto's fingers curled tightly around his phone as his breath caught in his throat. Isis had continued to speak, but Seto couldn't hear her, instead fixated on the single most important thing that anyone had told him all day. _The entranceway is open_. How could that be possible? Nobody would break into it . . . nobody knew who Atem was, except the people that _did_. The only individuals who knew the name of the Nameless Pharaoh would never return to such a place, after they set the Items to rest. So, either they had a new enemy, or . . . or the unthinkable.

"Seto?" Isis' voice brought him back to reality, and Seto exhaled slowly, willing his heart rate to lower. "Did you hear what I said?"

"The entranceway is open," Seto responded evenly, closing his eyes to focus. Plan out the next move. Figure out the next step. "Someone has disturbed the grave . . . but there was no sign of him?" He opened his eyes with a sudden clarity. "He wasn't there?"

"If I found the Pharaoh wandering the desert, the last person I would call would be you." But Isis' tone was even, not harsh, and Seto exhaled into a rare breathy laugh -- because, truthfully, Isis was correct, and it had been a stupid question to ask. Isis surely would have contacted Yuugi -- and, surely, Atem would have insisted on reaching Yuugi first, anyway. "I must admit, I didn't initially find your request to be serious," she continued. "I almost did not go."

"Why did you?" he asked, resting his head against the the door, narrowing his eyes at the ceiling. "You owe me nothing."

"I drank a delicious cup of tea this morning, and something about it told me that you may be telling the truth." Her voice sounded amused, and Seto accepted that he would not get an answer to his question. Instead, he allowed Isis to continue. "So, can I assume that I am going to have to host you and your cohort in the coming days?"

"I have no cohort," Seto murmured, his tone distracted, the comment more automatic than something that he seriously considered. "But if you're asking if Yuugi and whoever he chooses will be going, I don't imagine I have much choice." Yuugi _needed_ to come, and Kisara, too . . . but the rest of Yuugi's collective weren't necessary, though Seto imagined he wouldn't have much of a choice in the matter if they wanted to come.

"No, but you do have a house guest." _Now_ , Isis sounded definitively amused, and Seto rolled his eyes to the ceiling, awaiting her further asinine comments. "I am almost impressed that you offered Kisara a place to stay . . . you have grown kind in your time with Yuugi, Seto."

"We'll be on the next available plane to Cairo," Seto said flatly, shifting to push himself up off the door, as he heard Kisara and Mokuba's voices edging near the top of the stairs... the tour was not yet complete, but they were wandering too close to earshot for comfort. "Feel free to host to your heart's content, but I plan on remaining in the country for as little time as possible." 

"Of course."

And, without another word, Isis Ishtar terminated the call.

* * *

It took a handful of hours for Mokuba to give Kisara a full tour of the Manor. It gave Seto the opportunity to think and to plan, to arrange the private plane for a flight, and to let Isono know he was going out of town. He also texted Yuugi to let him know of the plan, with strict instructions that he was not going to entertain bringing his entire troupe. After some hostile negotiations, Seto reluctantly agreed that Jounouchi could go . . . if only because Honda and Anzu had agreed to keep watch in Domino City, just in case anything would go wrong, there.

And, like it or not, Jounouchi was a duelist. He could likely hold his own in whatever game they would be required to play, upon entrance into the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. At minimum, Seto wouldn't need to babysit . . . much.

A plane ride with Jounouchi for company sounded like a nightmare, one that was already giving Seto a headache . . . but Yuugi would be there to entertain him, and Seto needn't bother speaking to him for the duration of the flight. The only problem remaining now was Mokuba . . . and while part of Seto loathed the idea of leaving him behind, the other part of him knew that bringing him was out of the question. Particularly if something had broken into the tomb . . . or worse, broken out of it.

He hadn't decided, yet, whether bringing Mokuba was the correct thing to do when he heard Mokuba's voice as he and Kisara wandered into what Mokuba called the "gaming room." It was where Seto liked to hole up and think, though the room was certainly designed to do anything but. Tables built for Capsule Monsters or Duel Monsters were set alongside the wall, along with a television that had multiple gaming systems connected to it. Seto himself was seated at a table in the corner, his Duel Monsters deck spread in front of him as he arranged cards silently in thought . . . but he glanced up to see Mokuba gesturing toward the room with a grin.

"And I think this is the last room that we actually use . . . and that wraps up your tour!" It was a warm greeting, as Mokuba wandered over to the table, peering curiously at what Seto was doing before turning back to Kisara, crossing his arms with a grin. "How'd I do? Five stars?"

"Oh, definitely five stars," Kisara said with a warm laugh, folding her arms over her chest loosely as she paused by the table, following Mokuba's line of sight. "I would take the same tour all over again, if you would let me."

"Hear that, niisama?" Mokuba crowed, leaning against the table. Seto carefully moved a few cards out of the way to give Mokuba the room to properly lean on the table, arching his eyebrows slightly at Mokuba's comment. "I could make a killing on tours of this place alone."

"It's a shame that no one else is going to be able to utilize this service," Seto said dryly, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair, watching Mokuba with some amusement. "I'm afraid you're going to have to declare bankrupcty."

Mokuba responded with a snap of his fingers, in a silent " _aww, shucks_ " before inclining his head toward Kisara, who was still watching the array of cards on the table with some curiosity. "She took one of the rooms at the end of the hall in our wing. Hope that's okay -- do you play Duel Monsters?" Mokuba asked of Kisara, who immediately looked apologetic at being caught staring. "You should be so lucky to watch niisama build his deck, you know, he's one of the best duelists in the world."

"Ah -- no, I don't play." There was only a beat of awkward hesitation before Kisara glanced at Seto, clearly seeking a cue on how much to say. But Seto said nothing, simply watching the two interact, which allowed Kisara the space to continue. "But I would like to learn."

"It's not that hard," Mokuba reassured her, dropping down into a nearby chair -- and Kisara, too, sat down at the table, watching as Seto began to put his deck back together, stacking the cards neatly against the table. "It's mostly figuring out your strategy, and what cards work best for you . . . and speaking of, what's going on with Yuugi?" Seto's fingers paused against the cards before he continued to shuffle them together, but the lack of answer didn't deter Mokuba, who continued to press. "What happened, niisama?"

There was a pause before Seto raised his eyes to look at Mokuba, before he elected to exhale. It was pointless to hide much from Mokuba, who would surely find out of his own accord anyway. "The Tomb of the Pharaoh was broken into." And his eyes shifted briefly to Kisara, who seemed to pale at the news, before Seto returned his gaze to Mokuba, whose brow furrowed. "Yuugi and I believe that something is happening that might be connected to the Sennen Items." Seto finished reassembling his deck, placing it on the table neatly. "We need to go to Egypt to investigate."

"When are we going?" The question was immediate, effortless, and not for the first time, Seto admired how Mokuba truly just seemed capable of handling anything in his path, regardless of how absurd or difficult it may be. "And -- that's why you're here, isn't' it?" Mokuba's line of questioning shifted to Kisara, the teenager's brow furrowing. "You have something to do with Yuugi? Egypt?"

"I'm . . . " Kisara hesitated before glancing toward Seto, who inclined his head slightly, signaling that she should continue . . . hopefully, with a moderate amount of discretion. But as Kisara began to speak, Seto caught Mokuba narrowing his eyes at _him --_ catching, apparently, the silent queue between the two. Still, Seto listened as Kisara spoke, silent and impassive. "I woke up here, I am not from . . . this time?" She looked at Seto, a little uncertainly. "I am from Khemet, from . . . Pharaoh Atem's time."

"Yuugi found her at the beach," Seto said evenly, picking up the story from there. "We have no idea how she is here, but whatever is happening is clearly connected to the past. _That_ past," he added in a slight correction, his eyes flickering toward the table, to look at his deck. "It keeps resurfacing."

"So . . . wait, hang on, you're from Ancient Egypt?" Mokuba echoed, his tone slightly incredulous as he shifted in his seat to face Kisara properly. And when she nodded, he looked dumbfounded. "But you have all of your memories, and you . . . it's not the same thing as what happened with Yuugi, is it? You're not a ghost. . . _or_ a duelist, so how are you connected to all of this?"

"I . . ." Kisara's voice trailed off, and it was clear by her expression that she was unsure how to answer the question without also disregarding Seto's request for discretion. But she was soon cut off by Seto reaching out with an arm and gently pushing forward his deck toward the center of the table, drawing the first card neatly and flipping it over, showing a Blue Eyes White Dragon, which he set on the table, face-up. Kisara watched it, her expression hard to read, before she looked at Seto a bit more fully, her lips twitching into a frown. "What do you want me to say?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing," Seto responded evenly, his eyes lingering on the card for a long moment before he lifted his gaze to Mokuba, who was looking less patient with the theatrics as time ticked on. _Trust your instincts_. He had shuffled the deck prior to setting it in front of him, and he had no idea where the three Dragons were within the deck when he drew. Something within his heart told him that speaking the truth was going to be fine, and the Dragon (as it always did) led the way. "Kisara assisted in defeating an evil sorcerer, in the ancient world." And he inclined his head toward the table, where the Blue Eyes White Dragon card lay. "She is the only person capable of summoning the Blue Eyes White Dragon; it's a piece of her soul."

Whatever Kisara had been expecting Seto to say, it was clearly not _that_ \-- as Mokuba immediately leaned forward to peer at her with a grin, and Kisara's cheeks flushed a pale pink at the sudden attention. "Are you serious?" Mokuba asked, glancing between Seto and Kisara, his tone holding a hushed excitement. "You can -- a _real one_? Like the Shadow Games version of Duel Monsters, you can _do that_?"

"I -- yes," Kisara managed, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden attention. "But I can't -- "

"Kisara is going to stay here, for the foreseeable future, because this place is safer than anywhere else in the city," Seto interrupted, sending Mokuba a look that indicated his prying was no longer appreciated. "The Game Shop isn't secure, and the Manor is."

"Right, totally the reason why she's staying here, got it." Mokuba's dismissive tone was annoying, but Seto didn't bother taking the bait. Mokuba then turned to Kisara with a warmer grin, rather than the excited prodding that had happened ten seconds prior. "Well, I'm glad you're here, and niisama is right; this place is probably the safest place you can be in Domino City."

Kisara's expression soon shifted from a startled embarrassment to a warm laugh, and she quickly returned Mokuba's smile with one of her own. "I'm grateful to have met all of you; it's nice to have friends, it's made all of . . . well, _this_ a lot easier." And Kisara emphasized her statement with a wave toward the television set and other electronics. "All of this is... miraculous to me. Your way of living is so incredible."

"You can thank niisama for that," Mokuba said, his tone just as warm in return, and the comment caused Seto's lips to twitch into _something_ close to a faint smile, though the expression left as soon as it arrived. But soon, the teenager stood with a stretch. "I guess I should probably pack a bag or something... how hot is it in Egypt, do you think?"

 _I never said you were going,_ Seto thought to himself, though he recognized a lost battle when he saw one. And so he sighed, tilting his head toward the door. "Assume that it hasn't changed since the last time we visited." Mokuba could go to Egypt without actually venturing to the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh . . . or so Seto reasoned. "Go -- and order something for dinner, I don't care what it is," he added as Mokuba began to meander out of the room, his eyes following his younger brother out the door, rolling his eyes at the lazy wave of acknowledgement that Mokuba heard what he said. "Was the tour actually good?" Seto asked after a moment, glancing toward Kisara, arching his eyebrows slightly.

The question caught her off guard, and a laugh escaped before Kisara quickly nodded in affirmation, cheeks still tinged pink from the conversation earlier. "It was," she confirmed, tilting her head slightly to watch Seto with a small smile. "He entertained every single question I had." But her expression soon shifted into something more serious, and Kisara leaned forward slightly. "The Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh . . . you said it had been opened?"

"So says our contacts in Egypt." Seto reached out to collect the Blue Eyes White Dragon card, placing it back on top of his deck. "We're going to leave tomorrow morning." And Seto offered Kisara a rare smile, though it was more akin to a smirk than a genuine expression of warmth. "Did Mokuba include any information on what an airplane was in his five star tour?"


	6. CONNECTION.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments/kudos/hits so far. xo This is my quarantine pet project and truly just my outlet during this chaotic time. This idea has been kicking around in my head forever, and because I have nothing BUT time... here we are.
> 
> The adventure is just beginning. I have no idea how long this story is going to be -- I just know where it ends. xo

**CHAPTER SIX: CONNECTION.**

_“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”_

**William James.**

* * *

The flight to Egypt was excruciatingly long, but Yuugi had not moved from his seat on the Kaiba Corporation private jet since boarding the plane. He had not slept the night before, after receiving a surprise phone call from Isis Ishtar, to let him know of the state of the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh . . . something, apparently, she had already explained to Kaiba Seto. He wasn't sure why he was unable to sleep . . . excitement, maybe, at the prospect of seeing Atem again, or dread, at what possibly could be happening in Egypt . . . but either way, the duelist had not slept.

Most everyone else seemed to be able to sleep, save for two. Mokuba and Jounouchi were passed out in various seats scattered throughout the plane, but Kisara was awake, tucked into a seat near a window, staring out of it, seemingly lost in thought. Similarly, Seto was also seated by a window, but across from Yuugi, rearranging his duel monsters deck for what appeared to be the tenth time . . . Yuugi wasn't sure if his rival was nervous, or if he was genuinely coming up with new strategies, but he didn't interrupt. Everyone dealt with stress differently, and if Kaiba Seto wanted to rebuild his deck for the tenth time, then far be it for Yuugi to judge.

The silence was deafening, but eventually, Yuugi set his deck down in front of him on the table. Seto's eyes flickered upward from what he was doing to watch Yuugi for a moment, but said nothing, waiting for Yuugi to break the silence. And, eventually, Yuugi did.

"What are we going to do if he's there?" Yuugi asked finally, the words hanging in the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kisara glance toward them, but his attention was focused on the duelist in front of him, who was watching him in silence. "What does that mean, Kaiba-kun?"

"I don't know what you want from me, Yuugi." The response was quiet, and Seto flipped a card over -- Polymerization -- and added it to another stack. A single Blue Eyes White Dragon card lay face-up on the table. "I know as little as you do."

"But you know him," Yuugi persisted, and Seto's hand hesitated over another card, eyes meeting Yuugi's, his gaze cold and stormy. "If he were awake, he would have reached out to us, to _me_ , wouldn't he? So why hasn't he?" Yuugi continued, sinking back into his seat, his lips pursing into a frown. "He wouldn't sit here in silence if he could reach out and speak to us. And if something disturbed the Tomb, and if he really is here . . . the fact that he hasn't figured out a way to call to us is . . . I'm worried," the duelist admitted, resting his head against the back of the leather seat, exhaling slowly. "I think he's in trouble and I don't know if we can help him."

Seto was silent before he sighed, suddenly pulling his cards together into a single stack, shuffling his deck quickly before settling his deck to his right, drawing five cards. And Yuugi watched him, mystified, before he decided to ask, "What are you doing?"

"I'm tired of sitting here listening to you complain about things we can't control." The words were curt, and Seto inclined his head toward Yuugi's sitting deck, which was untouched. "Shuffle, and draw. We have ten more hours to waste, and I refuse to spend them hypothesizing over a catastrophe that hasn't happened yet."

Yuugi stared at him for a moment before shifting in his seat, leaning forward a little. "You want to play a game?" he asked, incredulous.

"I want a distraction." It was a blunt correction. "Draw, or forfeit. It makes little difference to me, but I will take your title if you forfeit. Good luck explaining that to the moron when we find him wandering around the desert in a cape," Seto added under his breath, rearranging his cards in his hands as Yuugi quickly straightened up and shuffled his deck, drawing five cards quickly. "You can watch, you don't have to pretend you aren't listening," he continued without looking over, and Kisara rose to her feet, looking slightly sheepish before crossing the aisle, taking a seat next to Seto. "Just don't wake up the dog; I'm not playing for charity today."

"The dog?" Kisara repeated, slightly confused; Seto had honestly minded his manners when Jounouchi had boarded the plane and introduced himself cheerily to Kisara, which Yuugi was thankful for. But now that Jounouchi was asleep and Seto no longer had to pretend, Yuugi knew it was only a matter of time before old habits rose their ugly head. "Did we bring a dog --"

"It's a long story," Yuugi interrupted quickly, but he didn't miss Seto's twitch of his lips, _proud_ of himself for the underhanded jab. What a petulant brat... but Yuugi sighed, shifting his attention to his cards, before he noticed Kisara watching a bit _too_ closely. "Do you want to learn how to play, Kisara?" Yuugi asked, his smile warm, while Seto looked slightly annoyed at the interruption to what promised to be a challenging match, even if it was an unofficial one. "I can explain as we go, if you want to learn. Kaiba-kun, you can go first," he added, to try and appease the brief look of impatience that crossed his rival's face; best to distract Kaiba Seto, if that was truly what he wanted, rather than face his ire. 

"Ah, I can learn by watching," Kisara reassured Yuugi, tucking her legs underneath herself as she watched Seto begin to play, placing two cards face down, summoning Battle Ox . . . but as Yuugi watched Kisara, who craned her neck slightly to look at the cards in Seto's hands out of curiosity, he noticed her eyes light up slightly, and her lips purse together into a small smile before she looked at the field again . . . leading Yuugi to believe that Seto had a specific _something_ in his hand. And, judging from the roll of Seto's eyes, Yuugi could gather that he knew Kisara was looking at his cards, but couldn't seem to work up the energy to bother to care. "Besides, I don't think I would enjoy playing the game as much as you do," she added, her attention shifting to Yuugi, who began to play his turn. "I would not be able to use my Dragon."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Yuugi murmured, his eyes scanning his hand as he added two face down cards, and set a monster in defense mode. "Maybe Kaiba-kun would let you borrow them." And Yuugi ignored the incredulous stare from his rival across the table, pursing his lips down at the field before ending his turn. There was nothing else to be done for the time being. 

"Don't promise what isn't yours to give, Yuugi." But the duelist's attention was on the field, not in trading barbs with Yuugi -- and for the first time since the Ceremonial Duel, Yuugi felt oddly . . . at peace. This felt weirdly normal, dueling with Kaiba Seto without the distraction of holograms and ancient powers that be. There was no pressure to win, in this instance. It was just a duel for fun . . . but whether or not Seto felt the same was yet to be decided, as the duelist set La Jinn in attack mode, and simply folded his arms over his chest, careful not to show his cards as he did so. "Finished."

"You aren't going to attack?" Yuugi asked, arching his eyebrows. Goading, maybe, but it was unusual for Kaiba Seto not to tear apart his opposition, even if there was a trap. He typically struck quickly, without remorse, and was always prepared for any scenario . . . to play two relatively powerful low-level monsters, but not attack, seemed to be a little out of character. "Something wrong?"

"You have a new deck." It was said evenly, Seto's eyes boring holes into Yuugi's own. "Don't you?"

There was a pause at that before Yuugi sat back in his chair, a faint grin appearing as it suddenly clicked into place. Throughout the entire time he had known Kaiba Seto, Yuugi and Atem had dueled with a variety of strategies, but at heart was the Black Magician -- the dark spellcaster that had decimated Kaiba Seto's defenses more than once. But since the Ceremonial Duel, Yuugi had indeed taken on his own strategy and developed his own path . . . something that had won him victory, in the Ceremonial Duel, and something that would surely assure him victory here. 

"You've never played me with this set before," Yuugi said finally.

"No." It was an agreement, as Seto glanced toward the field again, eyes roving over the facedown cards that Yuugi had put into play. "But I'm willing to allow you a turn or two to pretend it's effective," he added, inclining his head toward Kisara. "I wouldn't want to decimate you in the second turn, and prevent her the opportunity to learn."

"I really don't think--" Kisara began, but the trash talking had begun, and Yuugi quickly cut in:

"Fine." Yuugi drew a card quickly, his eyes bright. "Have it your way."

"I typically do," Seto responded evenly, but for the first time since this journey had begun, Yuugi saw a certain brightness in Seto's eyes -- a commanding intelligence that made Kaiba Seto one of the most brilliant (and, quite frankly, dangerous) duelists the world had seen. It was a look that Yuugi had seen before, in every single battle they had ever had against one another; it was a look that indicated Kaiba Seto wanted to _win_. And, finally, a rare upward turn of Seto's lips graced his features, into an arrogant half grin, as he watched Yuugi analyze his cards. "Wasting time won't stop your inevitable defeat, Yuugi." 

"We'll see, Kaiba-kun," Yuugi said defiantly, plucking a card from his hand. "Let's duel."

* * *

Two hours later, and the two duelists were nearing the end of their ferocious battle. It had been a long time since Yuugi had properly dueled Kaiba Seto, and he had almost forgotten how _good_ he was. Every single move was practiced, every single move was thought out, and for all of his blustering about not necessarily believing that cards have _heart_ , no one knew his deck more than Kaiba Seto. Indeed, he hardly glanced at his cards before he played them, displaying a trust that most duelists would find envious.

However, Yuugi was just as good. Just as practiced. And his Silent Swordsman, standing proud at 2500 ATK, was the lone warrior against Seto's last Blue Eyes White Dragon. Each duelist had a face down card in the magic/trap zone, and each duelist was watching the other for any sign or signal that they were going to break.

Kisara had watched the duel with bated breath, clearly engrossed in the match. She hadn't asked a single question of either duelist, seemingly allowing them the space to play without being bothered. Still, Yuugi suspected that she had a favorite to win, and it was not his side. She had been rather cross when Yuugi wiped the floor with the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon earlier in the match with a clever play, but had grown into brighter spirits when Seto managed to resurrect one of the dragons a few turns later.

"Your draw," Seto said after a moment, eyes unblinking as he stared Yuugi down, his arms crossed over his chest, two cards between his fingers. "Unless you want to forfeit."

"How long have we known one another, Kaiba-kun?" Yuugi asked conversationally, drawing a card, glancing at it before placing it in his hand.

"Long enough for me to know that this is going to be a long-winded exercise that I don't have patience for," came the dry response, glancing toward his watch to see what time it was.

"Then you know that I never quit." Yuugi glanced toward the field. "The Silent Swordsman's attack power raised to 3000 ATK, during the Standby phase--"

"Not enough, Yuugi, unless you want to annihilate us both, and that has never been your style," Seto interrupted evenly. "What is your final play?"

Yuugi's eyes scanned his hand quickly . . . there was nothing of use to be played. The only thing that he had at his disposal was the Quick Magic card he had on the field . . . but surely Seto had planned for that. He had a face down magic/trap on the field . . . and for this to work, he had to lure Seto into attacking. The face down card Seto had would either boost Blue Eyes', or negate whatever trap he thought Yuugi had in play . . . but knowing Kaiba Seto (and Yuugi did, exceptionally well), he knew that the Swordman would equate his Dragon in the next turn. And, by extension, he knew that in order to defeat it, he would need to boost the power of his Dragon. And he hadn't played any other cards . . . 

_Time to gamble,_ Yuugi thought to himself, glancing down at the field before offering Seto a faint smile, plucking a card from his hand and setting it face down. "I'll summon a monster face down in defense mode, and I'll end my turn there, Kaiba-kun." _Bait the trap. He's going to think that I don't want to sacrifice my Swordsman, and I'm counting on him to do the same to his Dragon. He'd never do it -- so he'll power up the Dragon, and attack my Swordsman, which would net him the win._

Seto watched Yuugi from across the table for a long moment before drawing a card, glancing at it briefly before adding it to his hand. The duelist remained still, his eyes roving the field.

_Come_ _on_ , Yuugi willed silently. _Attack_.

"Activate United We Stand," Seto said after a moment, reaching out to flip over his sole face down card. "Blue Eyes' ATK rises to 3800, which will be more than enough to lower your life points to zero." And Seto inclined his head slightly, eyes narrowing toward Yuugi -- _he expects a trap_ , Yuugi thought to himself -- before gesturing with a hand, signaling the attack would go forward. "Battle phase, begins."

There was a moment of pause before Yuugi grinned, settling back into his chair. "Are you sure, Kaiba-kun?"

"I know what you have," Seto said after a moment, folding the cards in his hand together neatly. But he didn't sound annoyed or upset, by the revelation that he had lost. Instead, Seto narrowed his eyes, his tone cool, but not cold. "Finish it, Yuugi."

"Sorry, Kaiba-kun, but it was a good duel," Yuugi said, not sounding quite as apologetic as he probably could have been . . . but then again, Kaiba Seto was a proud person. Offering an apology for winning would hurt his pride. But a victory, despite Kaiba Seto whittling him down to his very last cards, was something to be proud of. "Activate Quick Magic, Silent Sword Slash," Yuugi said, flipping over the card. "It boosts my Swordsman's attack strength 1500 points, to 4500 ATK -- destroying the Blue Eyes. And the remainder of your life points."

There was a stillness, in the result, and Kisara sighed heavily, releasing some amount of tension she apparently had. But Seto inclined his head slightly, reaching out to collect his cards and reassemble his deck, but not before saying (albeit in a begrudging tone), "It was a good duel." It was as close to an admission of having fun that Yuugi was ever going to get from the duelist, but Yuugi was surprised at the next question. "What was your facedown monster?"

"Ah - Beta the Magnet Warrior." Yuugi flipped it over with a slight grin. "I wasn't sure how much you were going to power up your Dragon by, and if you took down my Swordsman with you, I wanted a backup plan to switch into ATK mode next turn."

"Hn." Seto finished stacking his deck before he glanced toward Kisara, who was still watching them with curiosity. "Did you learn anything?"

"I would love to learn how to play," Kisara said immediately, her eyes bright as she watched Yuugi and Seto put away their cards. "You are both . . . I wasn't expecting it to be so exciting. And you play these games with the same . . . what is the word, technology? What you showed us in your building?"

"Kaiba-kun revolutionized the game," Yuugi said, his tone gracious -- even though he was telling the truth by the statement, he knew that a good compliment went a long way with Kaiba Seto, particularly if he had just lost. "Playing with his duel disk systems is almost like the monsters come to life . . . it's a lot of fun." 

"It must be awe-inspiring," Kisara murmured, lost in thought for a moment before she looked back toward Seto and Yuugi, a warm smile in place. "I want to learn," she decided, leaning forward toward the table. "Where do I begin?"

There was a beat of silence before Seto glanced over his shoulder toward the two other individuals on the plane who were beginning to stir from their sleep. Jounouchi in particular was yawning with a stretch, and Seto's eyes shifted from the disgruntled darkened look that had accompanied his loss to a sudden brightness; the expression he wore when he had an idea he particularly enjoyed.

Yuugi, for his part, hated that expression when it was associated with Jounouchi. "Ah, we can definitely teach you the basics, if--"

"Jounouchi can duel you," Seto interrupted evenly, rising to his feet and gesturing toward Kisara to switch places. "I'm certain one of the top ranked duelists in the world would jump at the opportunity to showcase his skills to someone just learning. Wouldn't you, Jounouchi?"

"I'm -- what?" The question was sleepy at best, and Yuugi eyed Seto suspiciously . . . because that had been a few compliments strung in a row associated with Jounouchi, and it couldn't be trusted. "You want me to do what?"

"Kisara wants to learn how to duel," Seto said mildly, inclining his head toward Kisara, who looked equally caught off guard. "Are you going to volunteer to assist her as an opponent, or not?"

"Uh - sure?" Jounouchi blinked before shaking the hair out of his eyes, getting up to his feet as he rolled his shoulders, stifling a yawn. "I mean, I just woke up, I don't know how good a teacher I'll be, but--"

"I don't have a deck," Kisara said uncertainly, glancing toward Yuugi, who shrugged in response as he shifted out of his seat, freeing it up for Jounouchi, who began laying out his deck in preparation for a practice match. "So I am not sure how much use I will be learning outside of watching--"

"You can use mine," Seto interrupted, placing his deck in front of Kisara, an upward turn of his lips turning his expression from nonchalant to downright pleased, as Jounouchi stared incredulously at the sudden challenge before him. "Jounouchi is familiar with the strategy I use, so it should be an easy victory, for him."

"You're gonna make a girl who's never dueled before duel against me with your deck?" Jounouchi asked incredulously, pausing in his initial draw of five cards, arching his eyebrows at Seto, who took a seat next to Kisara. "Why don't you just duel me yourself? You're just gonna humiliate her if you send her in without knowing what to do."

"Because one, I can't be bothered, and two, Kisara won't be dueling you without assistance." Seto folded his arms over his chest, a casual smirk gracing his features. "I'm going to teach her. You draw five cards, initially," he added to Kisara, who quickly pulled five cards from the top of the deck, almost eager to partake in the game. "We'll see if Jounouchi wants to go first, or if he'll be a gentleman, and allow you the first shot."

"I'm going to go to sleep," Yuugi interrupted in exasperation, shifting in his seat to grab a spare blanket and pillow with a roll of his eyes, uninterested in seeing what was sure to become a yelling match between Seto and Jounouchi, and not an actual teaching exercise for Kisara. "Wake me up when the argument starts, Kisara-san."

* * *

The flight ended without much more incident, landing in a private landing strip at an encampment outside of Cairo. The troupe immediately then loaded into a private helicopter, chartered by Seto to immediately take them to the Valley of the Kings. The Kaiba Corporation jet caused something of a clamor (Kaiba Seto, after all, was big news no matter what the occasion), but they were soon whisked away from the city, toward the Valley of the Kings.

Jounouchi was in something of a sour mood -- "Kisara" had won the duel on the jet, though Yuugi was certain it was less Kisara and more Seto, who directed the duel from the seat adjacent. But the bad mood soon lifted at the sight of the rolling dunes of the desert, as he looked out the window -- catching sight of encampments beginning to dot the seemingly endless sands. "Hey, excavation teams -- look, archaeologists or something, see them?"

"They find more ruins every day out here, I bet," Mokuba said, his gaze also looking out the window, his nose wrinkling slightly in thought. "I forgot how hot it was here..." And Mokuba pulled at the collar of his shirt, sighing heavily (and a bit dramatically). "I'm not sure how you lived in this, but it's definitely not our style," he added to Kisara, who was seated in between Seto and Yuugi, her hands folded tightly in her lap. "How can you live somewhere with no rain?"

"Home is home, Mokuba-kun," Yuugi said easily, offering Kisara a kind smile before glancing toward Seto, who was not looking out the window, but rather fixated on his phone. He hadn't said much since entering the helicopter, and Yuugi didn't endeavor to press him. Instead, he turned his attention to Kisara, lowering his tone, "Are you alright?"

"It's . . . different." Kisara shifted slightly in her seat, adjusting her headset so she could hear properly as she looked toward Yuugi, her lips pursing together into a frown. "I did not think Egypt could look like this . . . so much of it looks the same, but so much of it is different. And to go to the tombs of the Pharaohs is something I never thought I would . . . I am no one special," she said finally, and Yuugi noticed Seto's eyes flicker toward her, distracted from his phone for half a second at the statement. "I feel like I am in a dream."

"Trust us, if we didn't have to go to these tombs, we wouldn't be going either," Jounouchi reassured her with a wave of his hand, and the comment earned a warm smile from Kisara in return. "And just because you're not some Pharaoh or whatever doesn't mean you're not special."

"Everyone has their place," Yuugi said, gently nudging Kisara's shoulder with a bump of his own, a smile gracing his features. "Like Jounouchi-kun said, you don't need to be a Pharaoh in order to help save anyone, or anything. You're powerful in your own right."

"We're going to be arriving soon," Seto said after a moment's pause, sliding his phone into the pocket of his coat -- the moment of his paying attention to the conversation had vanished, and Yuugi frowned at him slightly before reclining back into his seat, waiting for further instruction. "Isis has informed me that there was a massive sandstorm the night before, near the Valley of the Kings. It knocked out some of the telecommunications equipment."

"Like the electrical storm in Domino City?" Mokuba asked, his brow furrowing.

"Hard to say. Sandstorms could be commonplace." Seto shrugged a shoulder, but it was clear in his expression that he seemed to quietly agree with Mokuba's suspicion. He glanced toward Yuugi with a probing look, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We have no idea what enemy could be waiting for us."

"We never do," Yuugi said, his tone a bit tired, but he forced half a smile regardless, ignoring the hammering in his heart. The closer they got to the tomb, the harder it was to ignore what they were actually doing ... or proposing to do. "What should the first move be? We have to explore the Tomb, but the last time we did . . . it wasn't exactly an easy fight. And we have no idea who _or_ what has been there since we left."

"I mean, she can summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon, right?" Jounouchi asked, jerking a thumb toward Kisara, who blinked in surprise at the suggestion. "We could use the Dragon to scout the place out, see if there's any--"

"Or we could send you," Seto interrupted evenly, and Yuugi noticed Kisara's shoulders relax half an inch -- seemingly relieved at being un-volunteered for the position of scout. "How fast can you run, Jounouchi? Do you get enough exercise at the dog park?"

"You know, I've had it _up to here_ with you and your bullshit, Kaiba--"

"No fighting, no fighting," Yuugi chided, holding up his hands, and thankfully, the two duelists seemed to listen, though there was no lack of glaring between the two. "I don't think it's as simple as summoning the Dragon, Jounouchi-kun, but we do need to figure out what's in the area . . . we should talk with the Ishtars when we land, they probably have a better idea about what's going on in this place than the rest of us do."

"Isis probably has this place mapped out," Mokuba agreed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "But the whole sandstorm thing is a problem... who knows how much the landscape has changed, you know? There's nothing but sand dunes out here."

"I'm sure Isis can still give us some insight," Yuugi reassured the group, eyes shifting toward the desert sands as the helicopter sped toward the encampment. "No one knows the tombs better than she does."

* * *

The helicopter landed without incident at a small base camp, situated in the heart of the Valley of the Kings. Excavation efforts at certain parts of the valley seemed to be placed on hold, due to the sandstorm that Isis had mentioned . . . but as Seto stepped off of the helicopter, he saw that there was no one in sight. No archaeologists, no scientists, no historians . . . while Seto had not been to the Valley of the Kings since their last adventure, he was surprised to see that there was nothing happening here. Only a series of tents that seemed to be empty.

"I don't trust this," Seto said under his breath as Yuugi stepped off the helicopter to stand next to him, the shorter duelist shielding his eyes from the sun. "Where is everyone?"

"I mean, the place is cursed, maybe people have finally learned their lesson," Yuugi said, his tone a bit dry, but it was clear in his expression that the empty tents and vehicles were disconcerting to him, too. "It looks like people just up and left."

"Aah, good, looks just as creepy and haunted as usual." Jounouchi's voice cut through the conversation, and Seto glanced toward the helicopter to see the rest of their unconventional team disembark the helicopter, his eyes narrowing slightly at the comment. "Good to know nothing's changed since we last left this place."

"Don't be ridiculous," Seto said, his tone irritated as he began to walk toward the nearest tent. "Nothing is haunted."

"The last time we came here, it was literally to put a ghost to rest," Jounouchi reminded him, which annoyed him, because the idiot had a point -- but Jounouchi was quick to keep pace, shouldering his bag. "Did the Ishtars say anything about people being here?"

"No," Seto responded, turning slightly to keep Mokuba in his sights, as the group slowly moved toward the nearest tent. "She told me that the telecommunications in the surrounding area were out, and that she was here. She was using a satellite booster on her device to reach me in the first place."

"When did she text you?" Mokuba asked, sticking close to Seto as they continued to walk toward the nearest tent. The door of the tent was open, unlatched, and as Seto pulled it backward, it looked abandoned. There was a table inside, with a scattering of paperwork, some archaeological tools, and an empty rucksack. But no sign of people. 

"Thirty minutes ago." Seto allowed Jounouchi and Yuugi to enter the tent to explore, Mokuba ducking underneath his arm to do the same. He was about to enter himself when he noticed Kisara had lingered near the entrance of the pathway to the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, her eyes fixated on the structures. "What is it?" Seto asked, raising his voice slightly to call over to her . . . but when she didn't respond to him, he exhaled abruptly before leaving the tent entrance, quickly moving to her side to look for himself . . . only to see nothing. "What are you looking at, there's--"

"Do you not feel it?" Kisara interrupted quietly, her posture tense as she stared down the pathway -- and before Seto could respond, she reached out to grab his wrist, gently pulling him down the path, past another empty, abandoned tent. "There is a darkness that exists here, that should not be."

"I don't -- stop going toward it," Seto said shortly, gently pulling her to a stop before shaking his wrist out of her grip, his heart beginning to beat faster as he digested what she was saying. "The entrance to the Tomb, if it's open again, is rigged with traps. Walking into it would be a death sentence without being prepared to--"

"You are not listening," Kisara interrupted again, turning toward him to grab his wrist again. This time, her grip was tighter, to avoid Seto shaking her off so easily. "Whatever is within the Tomb has already broken out; we are already in danger."

"What are you talking about, _broken out_?" Seto asked, his eyes narrowing -- but this time, he didn't shake off Kisara's grip on his wrist, allowing her the hold. "There is nothing in there except--"

"Do you trust me?"

The question caught him off-guard, startled by the abrupt question -- and even more startling, Seto found that he didn't know the answer. It should be an easy _no_ ; he just met this woman, of course he didn't _trust her_ . . . but he would be lying if he denied that he had relied on the guidance of Kisara before, with far less in front of him. She guided him through every move he had made since he had begun this journey with Yuugi; Seto just hadn't realized it was _her_ until Battle City. Until the Ancient World. Until his memories began to piece themselves together and paint a bigger picture as to why the Blue Eyes White Dragon was a constant presence in his life.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Seto asked, choosing to avoid the question neatly, staring at her with growing incredulity. "We are here for a single purpose, and--"

"Because if you do not trust me, then I cannot protect you from whatever we are going to encounter here," Kisara said quietly, releasing her grip from his wrist. "There is a powerful darkness, here, I can feel it within my soul -- and I believe that Yuugi is right; the Pharaoh is in danger."

Seto drew in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He allowed his eyes to move toward the path, the walkway that would lead to the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh . . . a place that he never thought he would go again, and certainly not with the group of people he was with. Some portion of him was beginning to think that coming here was a mistake . . . but the overwhelming part of him that knew he had to be here wanted him to continue toward the path, toward the Tomb, toward this alleged _darkness_.

After all, darkness, by itself, was not necessarily bad. Atem was shrouded in it. So was Seto. What mattered was the ability to overcome it; not your relationship with it. 

But at the end of his consideration, Seto settled on an answer, which was a curt, "I don't require protection." But before Kisara could argue, he moved past her, to continue on the path toward the Tomb, arms folded over his chest. "I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't trust what you said," he said evenly, moving past yet another empty tent. Why was there so much excavation here, and why would Isis Ishtar not tell him about it? _Besides_ , Seto added silently, his eyes fixated on the path ahead. _I've trusted her voice for this long; what's another adventure?_ "What do you feel?" he asked, glancing toward Kisara, who was keeping pace with him as they walked closer toward the Tomb's entrance. 

"It is hard to describe, but I feel the presence of what feels like someone's _kaa --_ the expression of your soul, what the Blue Eyes White Dragon is, to me." Seto was half tempted to tell her that the definition of a _kaa_ was unnecessary, as he knew what it was, but he kept silent, listening to Kisara speak as they continued to walk. "But I am not sure who it belongs to. Only that it is weak."

"But it isn't familiar?" 

Kisara shook her head, but then paused before glancing toward him, frowning slightly. "I am not sure what the Pharaoh's _kaa_ is, so I cannot say whether it is him. But whoever it is has been fighting for some time . . . it is not weak because of status, but because they are injured." And Kisara slowed her steps, reaching out to grab Seto's wrist again to slow his steps too, as they came into view of the entrance to the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, shielding her eyes from the sun. "It is coming from within the Tomb."

"You said that whatever was in the Tomb broke out, so what in the hell is inside it?" Seto said, reaching up to shield his eyes too, to have a better view of the entrance. It did, indeed, look like something had recently disturbed the stone and sand. Tracks that indicated a vehicle had driven in recently were present, and footsteps of workboots scattered the walkway. There was a scattering of archaeological tools . . . who had authorized such an excavation? And why hadn't Isis known about it? And more importantly -- "Where in the hell is Isis," Seto muttered to himself, shifting to remove his phone from his pocket, dialing Isis' number with a touch of his fingers, raising the phone to his ear. But the phone went immediately to voicemail, and Seto cursed underneath his breath before sending a series of text messages. "She wouldn't have brought us here if she weren't here herself, something is wrong," Seto said a bit louder, turning to look back the way they came, his eyes narrowed. "We should go back."

"Seto--"

"I heard what you said, but that doesn't change the fact that we need to go back," Seto interrupted, his tone a bit harsher as he turned back to look at Kisara, frustrated. "We aren't going to--" But he was cut off as Kisara raised a hand to point toward the entrance of the Tomb of the Pharaoh, and Seto followed her line of sight before his breath caught in his throat. The beating sun of the Egyptian desert made it hard to see, but there was no mistaking the fact that _something_ was lingering in front of the entrance of the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh . . ., no, _emerging_ from it -- not a man, but a beast, a silhouette that Seto recognized instantly, puling itself out of the wreckage that was the entrance of the Tomb, claws digging into the sandstone and dirt.

"What is it?" Kisara whispered as Seto held out an arm to push her slightly behind him, edging back up the path they had come down from. "Is it--?"

"Osiris." The word was hissed. "You didn't tell me that what you were sensing was _Osiris_."

* * *

"Aah, there's nothing here," Jounouchi grumbled as emerged from another tent, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Just a bunch of nerds who decided to poke something they weren't ready to poke...did you find anything, Yuugi?"

"No," Yuugi sighed, sitting down on a crate with a frown. There was no one there . . . no sign of the Ishtars, no sign of anything. Mokuba had returned to the helicopter in order to try and triangulate the last known position of Isis Ishtar's phone, but from what Yuugi could understand, he wasn't having much more luck. "Something isn't right here, but I don't know what it is," he continued, resting his chin in his hands as he looked around the abandoned campsite. "It's like everybody just . . . disappeared."

"Yeah, and they definitely didn't waste any time in ditching," Jounouchi agreed, dropping down onto a nearby crate to sit. "No sign of the Pharaoh, no sign of . . . hey, where'd Kaiba go?"

Yuugi glanced toward Jounouchi at the question before he straightened, blinking as he realized that, indeed, the eldest Kaiba was missing, as was -- "Kisara is gone, too," Yuugi said warily, getting back up to his feet with a frown. "Did they go investigate something else?"

"Leave it to Kaiba to wander off on his own in the middle of a haunted gravesite," Jounouchi groaned, getting to his feet too, dusting off his hands. "C'mon, he couldn't have wandered off too far . . . not that it'd be a huge loss if he fell into a grave and stayed there for a few months--"

"Don't say that, it could actually happen," Yuugi murmured, a sudden anxious weight forming in his stomach as he quickly moved toward the center of the encampment, glancing around to try and figure out where they would have gone. "They wouldn't have gone to the Tomb by themselves, would they?" Yuugi asked, looking toward Jounouchi, his expression concerned. 

"Kaiba's convinced he can do everything by himself, so I wouldn't put it past him to ditch us and leave," Jounouchi said in irritation, crossing his arms over his chest. "But he wouldn't have left Mokuba . . . I don't think he'd go in there without you, Atem'd kill him if he did anything like that without you."

Yuugi bit his lower lip in thought before he began down the pathway toward the Tomb, his footsteps quickening as they neared the place. It was true, that he didn't believe that Kaiba would go to the Tomb by himself, but it was also true that Kaiba Seto wasn't exactly the most upfront about his motivations . . . he may have gone to check something out thinking it wasn't a big deal, but gotten himself into a situation he couldn't get out of. And if Kisara were with him . . . "Why hasn't he shown up?" Yuugi said finally, the words escaping before he could stop them, almost _frustrated_ as Jounouchi jogged a few steps to catch up with his friend. "None of this feels right, and--"

Out of the corner of Yuugi's eye, a shadow flitted by. It was enough to make Yuugi stop in his tracks, Jounouchi nearly running into him with a muttered complaint, but Yuugi quickly hushed him as he whipped around, trying to track down what he had seen . . . the shadow had shape, a _familiar_ shape, but Yuugi couldn't place it immediately. It had been fast, floating . . .

"What's wrong, Yuugi?" Jounouchi asked quietly, sticking close and speaking softly to avoid too much distraction, but needing to ask the question regardless. "What're you looking for?"

"I saw . . . there!" And Yuugi took a few steps forward, shielding his eyes against the sun to look at a shadowed figure, darting from tent-top to tent-top, moving closer to the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh . . . and as Yuugi squinted, the figure suddenly came into vision -- long black hair, a curved headrest, wrapped in shades of black and mauve, a wicked looking staff in one hand . . . "Magician of Black Chaos?" Yuugi said, his tone bewildered -- and sure enough, the Magician of Black Chaos reacted to the name, glancing toward Yuugi only once before darting forward once more to land on top of the tent closest to Jounouchi and Yuugi, though he did not get closer. And as Yuugi stared at the Magician, he felt some sort of . . . _familiarity_ with the monster, a faint connection that he hadn't felt in six months. 

"He's here," Yuugi whispered.

"What -- is that -- that isn't real, is it?" Jounouchi asked, dumbfounded at the appearance of the Magician, who looked faintly amused at the expression on Jounouchi's face. "Yuugi, is that real?"

"Where is he?" Yuugi demanded, immediately moving toward the Magician, who held up a hand, raising one finger -- and, annoyingly, a familiar smirk graced the Magician's features. Almost goading Yuugi, and though the Magician did not speak, the monster clearly was telling Yuugi to _wait_. A frustrated sigh escaped as Yuugi turned on his heel, looking back down the path toward the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, his heart hammering in his chest. "He's real, someone summoned him," Yuugi added as an aside, finally answering Jounouchi's question, his tone distracted as he took a few more steps toward the Tomb -- but suddenly, the Magician jumped from his perch to land soundly in front of Yuugi and Jounouchi, again shaking his head with a knowing look. _Wait_. "Is he telling you to do this?" Yuugi asked, his tone shifting from frustrating to disbelief. "To keep me here? Why?"

"And where's Kaiba and Kisara?" Jounouchi asked, standing in line next to Yuugi, his eyes narrowing as the Magician glanced toward Jounouchi, still silent, and still utterly unbothered by their demands. "We're trying to find our friends, and you're kind of holding up the whole process, so can you do us a favor and get the hell out of our way?"

The Magician sighed to himself, looking somewhat annoyed at the questions and orders, before he reached out with a hand to rest two fingers against Yuugi's forehead . . . and, for some reason, Yuugi closed his eyes as the Magician did so, a sudden feeling of calm washing over him. And as Yuugi closed his eyes, a sudden voice emerged inside Yuugi's head, one that he hadn't heard in half a year:

_"Aibou? Can you hear me?"_

A startled gasp escaped from Yuugi's lips, and Yuugi felt Jounouchi grab his shoulders, preparing to yank him away from the Magician, but Yuugi quickly shoved Jounouchi off awkwardly, not being able to see with his eyes closed. "No, it's okay, Jounouchi-kun, I can -- hang on -- " And Yuugi fell silent, focusing with all of his might . . . but the telepathic response came just as easily as it had when they shared a soul. _"Mou hitori no boku?"_

A laugh echoed within Yuugi's mind, familiar and warm, but with tinges of disbelief. _"I felt that the Magician had found . . . it does not matter, are you safe? "_

_"I am, but where are you? What's going on?"_ Yuugi asked, his brow furrowing in concentration. It was bizarre, not being able to _see_ Atem within their mutual soul rooms as he had been able to do when they were connected by the Puzzle . . . but he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was the real Atem speaking to him now. _"We're near the Tomb, I'm with Jounouchi-kun, and--"_

_"Stay away from the Tomb, Yuugi."_ The use of his name nearly caused Yuugi to open his eyes in surprise, but he remained still, tilting his head slightly, a frown appearing on his lips. _"I do not know what is happening, but something has awoken. I came to being two nights ago, and have been fighting creatures in the dark ever since. And--"_

_"I'm not staying away from the Tomb if you're stuck in the Tomb, mou hitori no boku, that doesn't make any sense."_ The argument caused a frustrated sigh on Atem's end, and Yuugi felt temporarily victorious on that front. _"Can't the Magician lead us to where you are?"_

_"I will come to you. I am leaving the Tomb now; I sent the Magician ahead to scope the area, and he found you. It will take some time; the entrance way has been blocked by something, and I may need to recall the Magician to get through. . . "_ There was a pause, before Yuugi heard a curse echo through his mind. _"Who else did you bring, aibou?"_

_"Kaiba-kun and -- Kisara, she showed up in Domino City, it's a long story, but Jounouchi-kun and I were trying to find them when --"_

But Atem's interruption came as quickly as Yuugi's explanation. _"_ _Is Kaiba by the Tomb?"_

_"I don't know, he left by himself and we think Kisara went with him--why, what's wrong with the Tomb?"_

But the connection suddenly severed as the Magician removed his hand from Yuugi's forehead -- and before Yuugi could ask what was wrong, a deafening roar suddenly reverberated throughout the Valley, the sound so loud and all-encompassing that the loose stone rattled abruptly. The Magician immediately turned toward the pathway of the Tomb, readying his staff -- and Yuugi felt Jounouchi grab Yuugi by the arm and yank him backwards as a massive silhouette came into being. A spiraling curl of scales, scarlet, and the two mouthed beast of Osiris, the Egyptian God, rearing its head in the distance.

"He's by the Tomb," Yuugi said breathlessly, taking half a step backwards out of instinct at the sight of the massive beast. "Atem is in the Tomb--"

"So we're going, right?" Jounouchi asked, equally taken aback by the sight of the Egyptian God, but with a steeled conviction in his tone that typically indicated they were about to rush into a situation that was likely not going to end up well. 

There was half a pause before Yuugi shot Jounouchi a grin, relief rushing through him as he immediately darted past the Magician of Black Chaos, Jounouchi quick on his heels. He did not hear the Magician follow, but he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye that the Magician was keeping even pace. Feet hit the sand as Yuugi raced down the path, heading toward the shadowed silhouette where Osiris loomed.

_Hang on, mou hitori no boku_ , Yuugi willed to himself as he and Jounouchi raced down the path. _We're coming._


	7. RELIANCE.

**CHAPTER SEVEN: RELIANCE.**

_"If you never reach out for help, you will continue to deprive yourself."_

** Beverly Engle. **

* * *

Atem had not slept in two days.

He truly did not remember what happened. The Afterlife had accepted him; he had moved _on._ But suddenly he was thrust into reality, landing on the cold stone floor of a tomb that he was meant to leave behind forever. And he hadn't had the time, really, to properly digest what had happened, because when he pushed himself up onto his feet, the battle had begun.

The Tomb had turned into a lair of monstrosities. At every corner, different creatures lurked, seemingly sprung up from nowhere . . . no master had called them, and there was no one else in the Tomb that he could see or sense. Only him, in a constant battle against creatures that should have been allies, but instead sought to kill him. If Atem had had the time to think, he would have been horrified -- but his mind had immediately kicked into instinct, and he had been fighting to stay alive since he woke.

His _baa_ was nearly depleted, as he continued toward the entrance of the Tomb. He had sent his _kaa_ ahead, to scope out the area, and ensure that he had a free path forward . . . but the Magician of Black Chaos had found something that Atem had not expected, though he should have known better. Of course Yuugi would know something was wrong, and of course he would come here at first mention of trouble. And he had been communicating with Yuugi through his _kaa_ , seizing onto every ounce of relief that Yuugi's voice provided, when he stopped in his tracks at what was before him.

For two days, Atem had been battling spellcasters, dragons, beasts, and fiends. He had finally managed to battle his way to the entrance of the Tomb, and what would stand in his way but the very creature that was supposed to obey him, and only him.

"You have got to be kidding me," Atem muttered to himself, resting a hand against the wall of the entrance into the Tomb as he witnessed the sudden slide of brilliant red scales slipping out of the Tomb, chunks of rock crumbling as the massive dragon knocked pieces off without much mind or care to the attention and detail that whoever built this had put into it. It was Seth, wasn't it? Seth would be furious to know that his hard work was being destroyed by an out of control beast . . . and likely lecture him for it.

But as Yuugi kept talking, a jolt of adrenaline rushed through him. Yuugi was not alone . . . no, Jounouchi was with him, but also Kaiba and -- _Kisara_ , that name was familiar. Kisara was the woman that had saved Seth's life, in Khemet . . . but Atem pushed all of that aside to focus on the beast in front of him, which was escaping the Tomb, and heading (presumably) right for his friends. Friends that did not have the power to summon monsters from the dark . . . except Kisara, who was no match for the beast that had just spilled out of the Tomb.

Atem drew in a deep breath, steeling his reserve, before he began to move.

Osiris had not yet attacked, though it released a deafening roar to announce its arrival to the Valley of the Kings. Atem managed to slip out of the Tomb without the monster noticing, silently giving thanks for what felt like the seventeenth time that he had been thrust into reality wearing loose linens and sandals, not the heavier clothing that Yuugi had worn when they shared a body. He could move much easier and quieter this way, and as Atem pulled himself up onto a broken ledge to try and get some height, he could properly see, for the first time, the Valley of the Kings.

He could not see Yuugi, but he could feel the Magician of Black Chaos moving closer -- slowed, likely, by sticking close to Yuugi and Jounouchi, which was for the best. But he could see two figures up the pathway, familiar silhouettes, though one struck a much more familiar figure than the other.

_Kaiba_.

In most circumstances, Atem would be happy to see his rival -- especially now, in such a precarious situation, but the last thing he needed was for Osiris to attack him without any real protections. And so, Atem continued to carefully move along the ledge, trying not to disturb the stone too much as to alert Osiris of his presence; not yet. But soon, the two days of constant fighting caused Atem's balance to slip, and his foot hit a rock which caused him to trip, a scattering of rocks tumbling down the ledge. The noise was enough for Osiris to whip its head around, bright eyes locking onto Atem as the dragon exhaled in a low rumble.

_Damn it._ "Osiris," Atem breathed, his tone even and calm as he steadied himself on the rock ledge, raising a hand toward the Egyptian God. "You know who I am." The God did not move at his words, which encouraged Atem to keep going, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked Osiris in the eye. "I am not sure why you are here, but you were not summoned," he continued, shifting his foot against the rock to keep his balance. He was so _tired_. "You need to return to the shadows until you are--"

But Osiris suddenly whipped its head back toward the Valley, a grumbling exhale as his lower mouth opened in warning, baring teeth -- and Atem followed the dragon's line of sight to see that Yuugi and Jounouchi had caught up with Kaiba and Kisara, who were both moving down the path toward the dragon. His heart leapt into his throat as Osiris growled further, and Atem immediately rose his voice, the barked order carrying throughout the valley: "Stay where you are!" And he could see Kaiba pushing Kisara ( _how was she here?_ ) behind him as Osiris turned on them, and Yuugi skidded to a stop near them, Jounouchi quick behind, which left Atem time to jump (in a less than graceful fashion) down to a ledge below. The connection between himself and the Magician of Black Chaos was still present, but Atem willed the Magician to remain close to Yuugi and the others.

If Osiris decided to attack, they would need the protection more than he did.

"Osiris," Atem continued, sliding down a rocky slope to land on the ground below, quickly moving in front of the dragon. Every muscle in his body ached from the strain the battle had placed upon his soul, but he willed himself to keep going, quickly backing up to be able to look the dragon in the eye . . . at least, as much as he could. The God seemed to react to Atem, its attention diverted from Yuugi and his friends back to Atem . . . but something was not right. Atem had a connection to the Gods, a certain understanding between one another. They obeyed his command . . . but Osiris, or _this version_ of Osiris, felt different. Out of place, tinged with some strange darkness that Atem didn't properly understand . . . but the God didn't seem to attack, so long as Atem spoke to it. "Leave this place, and return to rest," Atem commanded, forcing his voice louder, a certain brassiness taking form in his tone as he clenched his fists at his sides. "They are not the ones who awoke you; _they_ will do you no harm -- you _know_ them," Atem added in frustration, tossing out an arm to gesture toward his comrades. "You can recognize as I can that they have no role to play in whatever brought us here!"

There was a moment of stillness, as Atem stared up at the God, every muscle in his body tense. Ready to fight, or ready to run . . . but if Osiris elected to attack, there would be no stopping it. The Black Magician of Chaos would be incinerated (and Atem with him), and his friends would be unable to do much . . . and for half a moment, Atem thought that he had managed to convince the God to return.

And then, Osiris opened its lower mouth, unleashing another roar . . . and Atem could hear the crackling of energy as the dragon prepared an attack.

It was as if time froze, as Atem stared at the God, his heart beginning to beat quickly. For a moment, he felt like he couldn't breathe. And finally, the two days of battle, of sleeplessness, the sheer _absurdity_ of the situation hit him. How was this real? Maybe it was just a dream . . . a chaotic nightmare. Or maybe this was penance, for the wrongs committed in life and in death. Was this a grand test, set forth by Death? Or maybe Atem had finally lost control of his senses, after thousands of years of isolation, of confusion, of nothingness. There was no other explanation for --

A sudden grip clamped around his forearm, and Atem stumbled backwards as he was pulled back abruptly -- and, startled, Atem looked up to see that Kaiba Seto was physically pulling him backwards, saying . . . something to him. Most everything Kaiba had ever said to him was frustrating and pointless, but engaging in a conversation while an Egyptian God was about to kill them seemed out of character. But once Atem pushed back his initial annoyance, he felt a sudden surge of relief.

_This was real_. Kaiba Seto _was_ here. And if Kaiba was here, then Yuugi was here, and so was Jounouchi, and Kisara, and it was not only Atem facing down the Egyptian God, but Atem _and_ his friends. Which meant they were all in danger, but it also meant he was not alone.

"Are you listening to me?" The words were snapped, as Seto gripped Atem's upper arm, shaking him slightly to get his attention. And, seemingly assuming that Atem was, indeed, not listening, Seto repeated his demand: "Can you fight?"

"No," Atem responded honestly, yanking his arm out of Seto's grip, his eyes shifting toward the duelist, fixating on the sound of his voice. _Focus on what is real; ignore what is not_. But the momentary pause Atem had allowed himself made him realize how exhausted he truly was. He had no energy; he could barely maintain a single summon, let alone summon anything else worth fighting. Only Kisara was capable of summoning anything of real worth, and that would be an automatic death sentence . . . which no one needed. There was truly only one option, as Atem swayed on his feet.

"We need to retreat," Atem decided quickly, taking a few steps backwards before stumbling -- but before he could catch his balance, Yuugi was there to support him, pulling Atem's arm over his shoulder without another word, moving quickly up the hill toward a series of encampments. And, again, with Yuugi's touch, Atem felt his shoulders relax an inch -- because _Yuugi_ was here. And if Yuugi was here, then everything, surely, would be fine. "Aibou," Atem began, his voice dropping to a quieter tone, but Yuugi quickly shook his head.

"We're going to talk later, okay?" It was a quiet reassurance, and also a promise, which set Atem slightly at ease. _Focus on what is real, ignore what is not_. "We need to get you out of here first. Kaiba-kun!" Yuugi jerked his head up the hill as he began to walk with Atem up it, trying to urge him along as quickly as possible. "We need to get the helicopter ready, I'll make sure he gets there."

Atem could feel the Magician of Black Chaos following, but Atem finally allowed his _kaa_ to desummon; the pressure on his soul eased almost instantly, and Atem exhaled slowly as the group quickly made their exit. But the more they moved, the more Atem's vision began to swim, darkness clouding around the edges of his sight.

_I cannot pass out in front of Kaiba Seto, I will never hear the end of it,_ Atem thought to himself, gritting his teeth to force himself to focus. Staying awake was imperative. He had endured far worse than a few days of fighting in the dark. He had endured _thousands of years_ of imprisonment; he could endure this. He _would_ endure this, and make sure his friends did not die in their foolhardy attempt to rescue him from whatever had awoken in the dark. But as Atem tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other as quickly as possible, the rest of his rescue party continued to talk, the conversation bleeding in and out of focus as Atem struggled to pay attention.

"The God is not attacking." It was a voice that Atem only found vaguely familiar . . . Kisara, the woman who held the Blue Eyes White Dragon within her soul. "Why is the God not attacking -- ?"

"Let's not question a good thing, yeah?" Jounouchi's voice, now. The encampment was continuing to grow denser, with more and more tents . . . why were there so many tents here? "How about we count our blessings and just get the hell out of here before it changes its mind?"

"Stay awake." Now, Yuugi's voice, but quiet -- quiet enough that only Atem could hear it. "I need you to stay awake, alright? We're almost there. -- Jounouchi-kun, help me, I think he's going to pass out--"

"I'm not going to pass out," Atem muttered, but sure enough, he felt another presence hoist up his other arm -- Jounouchi, supporting him easily, and though Atem's vision had blurred, he could faintly make out what looked like a helicopter. True to Yuugi's word, they were nearly there . . . wherever _there_ was. "We cannot leave Osiris here," Atem continued, finding some amount of strength left to project his voice to the group. "We have to at least contain it, to--" 

But Atem was interrupted by the sudden sight of Mokuba, who was leaning out of the helicopter waving frantically. He blinked his vision into focus, narrowing his eyes slightly to try and figure out what was going on . . . but as they finally made it to the helicopter, the problem became no less clear. Mokuba appeared to be fine, and the helicopter appeared to be in one piece. But it wasn't until Seto said: "Where is the pilot?" did Atem realize that there was apparently someone else here, too.

"How many people did you bring to this place?" Atem asked in slight bewilderment, allowing Yuugi and Jounouchi to half-push, half-pull him into the helicopter. They were quickly followed by Kisara, who took her seat immediately, beginning to strap herself in instantly as Seto spoke with Mokuba about the whereabouts of this mysterious pilot. He belatedly realized that he likely should have asked Yuugi these questions when they briefly spoke earlier, but the adrenaline and need to escape had blocked whatever common sense questions existed at the time. "You chartered a pilot to come here?"

Jounouchi slid the doors of the helicopter shut once they were inside properly, bolting the door shut with a particularly aggressive motion. "Yeah, we did -- and speaking of, where in the hell did the pilot go?" he asked, dropping into a seat next to Yuugi, who was attempting to both secure his own seatbelt while doing the same for Atem. "Wasn't he with you, Mokuba?"

"He stepped out to stretch his legs while I tried to track down Isis' phone, and he never came back," Mokuba responded tersely, strapping himself into the seat next to Kisara. "He just disappeared."

"Are you serious?!"

"Of course I'm serious, I'm -- " But Mokuba's voice was cut off by the sudden whir of an engine; the helicopter had started, and Atem's brow furrowed as he struggled to figure out how. There was no pilot, so who was turning on the helicopter? His eyes quickly swept the passenger area of the helicopter, counting quickly. Jounouchi, Kisara, Yuugi, Mokuba . . .

As Atem realized who _was_ in the pilot's seat, he quickly shrugged off Yuugi's attempts to belt him in to stumble toward the front of the helicopter, pulling himself into the passenger's seat without much more fanfare. Seto, to his credit, did not react to his sudden co-pilot, adjusting his headset as he began to check dials and switches that were meaningless to Atem, but apparently made sense to Seto. "Fly over Osiris," Atem ordered, seizing onto the moment of clarity as he strapped himself into the seat, grabbing a nearby headset so that Seto and the others could hear what he said once the flight properly began. "We need to see what it is doing."

"We need to get out of here," Seto responded evenly, taking the steering mechanism of the helicopter into his hands. And Atem felt the vehicle jolt slightly before rising into the air smoothly and evenly. Not for the first time, Atem wondered where Seto found the time to learn such skills such as flying a helicopter or a plane, but he pushed the thought of his head to fixate on the next step. "That doesn't involve doing a flyover of an Egyptian God that you pissed off."

"I did not miss your irrational stupidity," Atem muttered, gripping the nearest surface as the helicopter moved quickly into the air. In his time with Yuugi, he had flown plenty, mostly on Seto's dime. And flying was typically an enjoyable experience, but not this time -- the helicopter bobbing up once more, which granted Atem a overview of the Valley of the Kings . . . and though Seto had told Atem he would not do a flyover, he was granting Atem a decent look at the Valley of the Kings . . . and Osiris, who was barely visible through a sudden kickup of sand and dust. "What is it doing?" Atem asked, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to see.

"It looks like it's going back into the Tomb," came Yuugi's voice in his ear, and Atem twisted in his seat slightly to look at Yuugi, who was peering out of the window. "But all of that dust can't be because of Osiris, can it? That doesn't look--"

But before Yuugi could finish his sentence, the helicopter suddenly banked to the right, and Atem's shoulder hit the side of the helicopter as he was abruptly righted in his seat. "Kaiba!" Atem hissed in frustration, gripping onto a lever that he hoped was not important as the helicopter righted itself. "What in the hell are you--"

But the words in Atem's throat died as a sudden flash of gold shot past the right window -- it moved too quickly for him to catch what it was, but it was large enough to cause the helicopter to shake as it flew past. The helicopter banked to the left, this time, the passengers in the back yelping in surprise as the flying machine navigated the newfound flying fight they were suddenly in. And though Atem could not see it, he could _feel_ it . . . a power that had come into existence that hadn't been present in the Tomb.

"Any ideas would be appreciated," Seto said through gritted teeth, pushing the steering mechanism forward as the helicopter dipped down. There was another flash of gold, this time on their left, and Seto urged the helicopter forward as they shot across the desert sands. "We have company."

"It's right behind us, Kaiba," Jounouchi warned, and (perhaps in the greatest miracle of the day) Seto heeded the warning, urging the helicopter forward at a faster clip. 

"What in the hell is it?" Seto demanded, reaching out to flip a switch that didn't seem to change anything about the way they flew, but it clearly seemed necessary, as Seto checked another gauge before refocusing his full attention on navigating them across the desert at what seemed like an impossibly fast pace.

"You're not going to like the answer, niisama, but I'm pretty sure the Winged Dragon of Ra is trying to kill us," Mokuba responded, his voice tense, and Atem could see Mokuba twisting around in his seat to look out of the window in the mirror attached to the roof in front of him. "Can't this thing go any faster?!"

"If this thing crashes in the desert, we are dead, and I didn't want to die in the desert six months ago, and I sure as hell am not dying now," Jounouchi said in frustration. "Get us out of here, Kaiba -- "

"We're not going to die in the desert," Yuugi interrupted Jounouchi evenly, his voice calm -- or as calm as could be expected, given the circumstances. "We're going to be fine, as long as Kaiba-kun--"

"Seto, what can we do to help?" Kisara's voice was the next interruption, and while the woman had been silent for the majority of the trip, her voice was nonetheless heard. And she, too, was calm in her words, and Atem turned slightly to look at her. Their eyes met for half a moment before Kisara refocused her attention on the pilot seat, her fingers curling into the armrests of her seat to stabilize herself as the helicopter sped up. "What do you need?"

"I need all of you to shut up," Seto responded tersely, his eyes fixated on the sands in front of him, his fingers wrapped tightly around the steering mechanism. Despite the order, Atem had to admire that Seto's voice was even, without a shred of fear or hesitation in what he was doing. "Do me a favor and only say something if it's relevant to our survival, and not baseless complaining about our situation." 

"We need to go where the God cannot follow," Atem said after a moment, gripping the armrests as Seto took another hard left, and _this_ time, Atem could see the curved talons of Ra barely missing the side of the helicopter. The frustrated roar of the God rattled the frame of the helicopter, and while there were a few yelps and curses from the back of the helicopter, his friends seemed to be generally obeying Seto's order not to say anything unless it was a suggestion on how to escape. "Or send it in a different direction, with a distraction, so we have time to escape."

"I could distract it," Kisara said after a moment, leaning forward in her seat, but Atem could see by Seto's clenched jaw that the summoning of the Blue Eyes White Dragon was an idea that was dead on arrival. "It would--"

"We should not endanger ourselves further, in order to escape," Atem interrupted, but he offered Kisara a faint smile before refocusing his attention on Seto, who looked less ready to object to the idea now that Atem had already shot it down. "Ra is too large to fit through much," he continued, shifting in his seat to look out the front view finder of the helicopter. "If we flew into one of the carved out tunnels of the Valley, it may abandon pursuit."

"What, like _Star Wars_?" Jounouchi asked, his tone incredulous. "You're seriously asking Kaiba to lose it in a canyon? This isn't the Millennium Falcon, this is a piece of crap tourist helicopter that--"

"Hang on," Seto interrupted shortly, and without much more warning, the helicopter banked a hard right -- and once Atem caught himself, he saw that Seto was, indeed, rocketing right back toward the Valley of the Kings, toward a narrow crevasse carved into the stone thousands of years ago. It looked barely big enough to fit their helicopter, let alone the massive Winged Dragon of Ra . . . and while Atem was certain this was likely the best option they had, he was suddenly doubtful that Seto could manage it without causing, at minimum, a major accident.

"You will need to fly low," Atem said after a moment, fingers digging into the seat as he prepared himself for possible impact. "The God--"

"Do you trust me?" Seto asked, his eyes fixated forward, and Atem glanced toward him in surprise. "Because if you don't, then I can pass the controls to you." 

"I trust you." It was said easily. And, quite honestly, if he trusted anyone to fly a helicopter through a narrow ravine while an Egyptian God was tearing after them, hellbent on destruction, Atem would choose Kaiba Seto. He was likely more skilled at evading death than whatever pilot they had hired to bring them here in the first place anyway, wherever he was. "You have not killed me yet," Atem added, sucking in a quick breath as the helicopter suddenly dipped lower, beginning their descent into the nearest gap between two massive cliffs. "Not for lack of trying, I am sure."

Seto said nothing in response, but Atem caught the upturned curve of Seto's lips out of the corner of his eye. Not quite a smile, but likely as close as he was going to get.

There was a sudden scraping sound against the right side of the helicopter, and Atem saw sparks fly as Seto navigated the machine further into the ravine. The helicopter blades narrowly avoided clipping the sides of the rock, and Atem could hear a louder racket behind them as, presumably, Ra (or whatever bastardization of the beast) struggled to claw its way after them. But soon, the din behind them grew farther away, and the only noise Atem could hear was the sound of the helicopter blades as they continued down the pathway carved by mighty rivers thousands of years ago.

"I think we lost it, niisama," Mokuba said after a moment, tentatively hopeful, his voice sounding in Atem's ear through the headset. "I don't see it behind us anymore."

"We should keep going until we know for sure," Yuugi said warily, and Atem looked over his shoulder toward Yuugi, who met his eyes with concern. Atem was inclined to agree, with his other self; the Egyptian God may have found another way to attack, and remaining sheltered seemed to be the best way to go about it. "How much father can we go with the helicopter, Kaiba-kun?"

"The ravine is wide enough for us to keep going," Seto responded, his tone distracted as he was focusing on navigating their new route. "We'll need to circle around to get back to civilization; we're going in the opposite direction, and--"

But Seto never got to finish his sentence.

The helicopter was slammed upon from above, and a horrific screeching sound erupted from above them. Atem saw a torn helicopter blade go spiraling in front of them, torn from above, and he heard Seto shout something above the din as he struggled to maintain control of the machine . . . but in a matter of seconds, the helicopter spun abruptly to the left, and slammed into the canyon wall. Sparks flew, and Atem only had a matter of moments before he suddenly saw a brilliant white light flash in front of his eyes . . . and then, everything fell into darkness.

* * *

When Seto came to consciousness, he was strapped into the pilot's seat of the helicopter, which was suspended roughly ten feet off the ground at the bottom of a narrow tunnel. His head ached (likely a result of hitting his head on the way down), but once he blinked his vision into focus and slowly began to move his limbs, he realized he was relatively unharmed. Nothing seemed broken, by some miracle. But as he spoke, he felt his head _ache_ , though he forced his tone to be even.

"Is everyone alright?" he managed, struggling for a moment to unhook his safety harness before he reached up to grab a handle affixed to what remained of the ceiling of the helicopter, pulling himself forward with a slight hiss of pain. Atem was next to him, his head resting against the side of the helicopter, eyes closed -- unconscious, hopefully, though Seto didn't disturb him just yet, speaking the first name that popped into his head: "Mokuba?"

"I'm alright," came the muffled sound of his younger brother, and Seto's shoulders relaxed in a release of tension he hadn't known he was carrying, at the sound of his voice. The eldest Kaiba turned slightly in his seat to see Mokuba struggling to unhook the safety harness, a trickle of blood leaking from his hairline . . . but other than that, he seemed to be in one piece. There was no sign of Kisara in the helicopter, nor Yuugi or Jounouchi. Had they fallen out of the helicopter in the crash? "I'm -- I'm stuck, I need--"

"Don't move," Seto ordered, disobeying his own advice as he shifted to stand, reaching out with a hand to grip Atem's shoulder, shaking the Pharaoh slightly. There was no sound, but Seto could see the rise and fall of the Pharaoh's chest -- alive, but unconscious. He took another step to try and unhook Atem's safety harness, but the helicopter groaned abruptly at the shift in weight, and Seto froze as the helicopter creaked. Glancing out of the shattered window indicated that the drop was not so severe that it would kill them, but it also wouldn't be pleasant. "Where is Yuugi?" Seto asked, leaning over slightly to unhook Atem's safety harness, working quickly. "Did you see him?"

"No, I -- " Mokuba finally seemed to manage to unhook his safety harness, exhaling abruptly as he rolled his neck gently, cringing with the movement. "Something hit the helicopter, and I don't really remember what happened after that. . . I didn't see Yuugi fall out, maybe he got out first?"

"He wouldn't have left Atem here," Seto murmured, finally freeing Atem from the harness, keeping a hand on the Pharaoh's shoulder to steady him in the seat so he didn't fall to the side without the harness to hold him in place. "We have to figure out how to climb out without breaking a leg," he continued, scanning the helicopter quickly for ideas. "And how to get him out of here at all," he added, glancing toward Atem, who was still unconscious, and therefore useless.

"Is he okay?" Mokuba asked uncertainly, pushing himself onto his feet, testing his limbs gingerly . . . and Seto noticed with concern that he cringed when he rolled his right shoulder. Likely an effect of being held in place by the safety harness of the helicopter and nothing more serious than that, but still worrying. "He doesn't look great."

"He'll be fine," Seto said, and while the comment was meant to be reassuring, he lacked the typical confidence injected into such reassurances told to Mokuba. "There should be some type of safety ladder attached to the side of the helicopter," he continued, turning to adjust Atem's weight so he was safely leaning against the helicopter wall before carefully stepping toward the back of the helicopter, slowly making his way toward the door, which looked as if it had been ripped off by the crash . . . until, upon closer inspection, Seto noticed claw marks that had dug into the metal, slicing through it as easily as if it were a warm knife through butter. Worse still, there seemed to be no sign of the emergency exit device that Seto had planned on using to get them out of there. 

"Great," Seto muttered, leaning out of the door slightly to look toward the ground, but before he could lean too much further out, he was face to face with an exceptionally familiar beast.

The Blue Eyes White Dragon's brilliant white scales glinted in the Egyptian sun as it exhaled slowly, raising its head to be eye to eye with Seto. There was a certain intelligence in the eyes of the beast that wasn't necessarily reflected in the holograms that Seto spent hours meticulously crafting over, and Seto felt a certain thrum of energy from the Dragon that he had felt before -- in every duel, in every moment where he had his back against the wall, and he had needed a particular card to win. He _knew_ this beast, and this beast knew him.

Distracted, Seto thought heard Mokuba yelp in surprise at the appearance of the Dragon, but Seto didn't move a muscle, eyes narrowing slightly as he slowly pieced together what seemed to have happened, in the fallout of the crash. There had been a brilliant white flash of light, as the impact happened . . . and given the presence of the Dragon before him, Seto was fairly certain that he knew what that light was.

"Did you put this here?" Seto asked after a moment, inclining his head toward the helicopter. The Dragon did not answer, necessarily, but the glint in its ( _her_ ) eyes seemed to answer the question for him. And the Dragon extended her wings, stretching them widely before resettling near the entrance of the helicopter, her massive head peering into the helicopter, seemingly taking stock of whoever else was still there. "Take Mokuba first," Seto said after a moment, glancing toward Mokuba, who stared at Seto as if he were insane. "Atem and I can follow."

"Niisama -- "

"It won't hurt you." And Seto was surprised to hear the slight scolding in his tone, as he shifted to move back toward the unconscious Atem, to figure out how to get _him_ safely out of the helicopter. "Kisara must have summoned it; that's where the others went. She sent this to come back for us." He reached out to grasp the back of the pilot's seat to steady himself as Mokuba made his way toward the door, his footsteps hesitant -- but eventually, Mokuba carefully climbed up onto the head of the Dragon, sliding down to the back and sitting down abruptly.

"This can't be happening," Mokuba muttered to himself, but the Dragon soon shifted weight and disappeared from Seto's immediate view -- though Seto could see out of the shattered window that the Dragon had lowered herself down onto the ground, allowing Mokuba room to slide off and head toward a nearby alcove. He faintly overheard Mokuba saying something to someone -- likely Yuugi or the others, but it seemed that, for the time being, they were safe.

Seto soon turned to the problem of Atem, who seemed to be stirring. His eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times to try and ascertain his surroundings, and he looked confused before Seto ducked into his line of sight, narrowing his eyes to see whether Atem had a concussion or not.

"Kaiba?" Atem asked, his tone sounding dazed. "What are you doing here?"

Recognizing him was a good sign, but not knowing why they were here was not. Seto's brow furrowed slightly, trying to figure out how to proceed, before he settled on saying, "I'm here to get you out of here, but we need to figure out--"

"The God," Atem interrupted suddenly, whatever proverbial light bulb that had been knocked out during the crash coming to fruition as the Pharaoh suddenly straightened, attempting to push himself out of his seat. "Where is Yuugi --"

"Stop moving," Seto ordered, reaching out to grasp Atem's shoulder, to keep him still. Yuugi probably would have better bedside manner than this, but that was his own fault for leaving the helicopter first. Or being forcibly removed, which was the more likely situation. "You need to be sure you didn't break anything before we leave the helicopter. Yuugi is fine," Seto added, in a partial lie; he had no real idea, truthfully, if Yuugi was fine or not, but he had a feeling that the duelist survived, and was waiting below. "Does anything feel broken?"

Atem wanted to respond with a litany of insults, Seto was sure; his expression made it obvious that he had zero appreciation for what Seto was attempting to do. But Atem seemed to pick and choose what battles he wanted to fight with Seto that day, and instead shifted his legs and arms in a half-hearted attempt to see if they were broken. "I am fine," Atem declared, moving to stand, exhaling in a sudden curse as he stumbled, Seto catching his arm neatly. "Damn it --"

"You are useless," Seto muttered to himself, shifting to loop an arm around Atem's waist, hoisting him along easily to get him to the back of the helicopter. Seto's ribs protested at the sudden additional weight, but he ignored it, choosing instead to focus on the next step. The Blue Eyes White Dragon had returned swiftly, ready to assist them in getting out of the helicopter -- but before Seto assisted in helping Atem out of the helicopter, he hesitated. It was likely the only moment for the foreseeable future that he had alone with Atem, who undoubtedly just wanted to sleep. But there was a lot to say, a lot to _know_. "I -- "

"Later, Kaiba." The interruption was tired, and Atem shrugged out of Seto's grip to stoop slightly, resting a hand against the snout of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, offering a faint smile toward the beast before he straightened, turning toward Seto. The smile was still in place, but his eyes held a certain understanding. That Seto didn't need to finish the sentence, for Atem to understand what he wanted to say. And Atem inclined his head slightly toward the Dragon, his expression shifting from understanding to a slight mischief. "Kisara is here?"

"She is." It was said evenly, not rising to take the bait, and Seto turned to collect what was left in the helicopter: a bag or two, an emergency kit, and what appeared to be an emergency transmitter of some sort from the back of the helicopter. "She showed up in Domino City." Shouldering the bag, Seto returned to Atem's side, giving him a pointed look as he jerked his head toward the Dragon, who was still waiting patiently. "And maintaining that is likely causing her to want to pass out, so you might want to move instead of wasting my time."

Atem rolled his eyes at the comment, but stepped out onto the Blue Eyes without much hesitation. Seto was close behind, catching himself as he slid down onto the Dragon's back. Atem remained standing as the Dragon lowered itself down onto the ground properly, and Seto watched the Pharaoh (less than gracefully) disembark, lips twitching as he kept the laugh within. The laugh soon died within in his throat, though -- as Seto stepped onto the ground, the Dragon vanished from sight, causing both Atem and Seto to turn on their heel suddenly, startled with the sudden desummoning.

"She likely ran out of energy," Atem said after a moment, turning back toward the alcove that was tucked away -- and though Seto hadn't seen where Mokuba vanished to, he followed Atem toward the alcove regardless, keeping pace with the Pharaoh easily. "Maintaining a summon takes effort if you are not practiced at it."

Somewhere, Seto knew that Atem was speaking the truth, even though he had not experienced it himself. In another world . . . but Atem's point had brought up another good point. "How are you still conscious?" Seto asked, casting Atem a doubtful look as they neared the entrance of the cave. "You looked horrible."

Atem responded to Seto's question with a shrug. "I have always rapidly regenerated my _baa_ ," Atem responded heavily, pausing outside of the entrance of the alcove. "Since I was a child. But I am not going to be able to fight for a time," he added, glancing down at his hands with a frown. "I pushed myself too much, in the Tomb. I need to rest in order to properly rejuvenate my soul." He remained silent for a moment before he turned to Seto, a frown etched into his features as he looked up at his rival. "Thank you for coming, Kaiba." The comment caught Seto off-guard, and he paused alongside Atem, glancing toward him to wait for him to finish. "You saved our lives, with what you did."

Seto was silent for a moment before he exhaled, ducking his head slightly as he moved into the cave. "I want no part of sentimentality with you," he muttered, carefully avoiding hitting his head on a lower part of rock. "I came here because I had to."

"Did you?" His voice was annoying, as Atem followed close behind. "You could have remained in Domino City. Ignored whatever compelled you to come here, and allowed Yuugi to figure out his way. But instead, you--"

" _You_ said later." It was a short interruption, as Seto turned abruptly to stare at Atem, eyes narrowed. His head was beginning to throb, right behind his left eye, and his ribs were beginning to protest the longer he remained standing. Even worse, he was running out of patience with tip-toeing around the inevitable discussion. "Do you want to do this now, or do you want to do this later?"

Atem watched him for a long moment before sighing, stepping aside Seto to duck into the small cavern properly. "Later." And, before Seto could say anything else, he heard a sudden clamor -- and as Seto ducked into the cavern as well, he saw Yuugi immediately pushing himself off of a broken crate, throwing his arms around Atem in a tight hug that caused Atem to cringe, but the Pharaoh soon returned the hug tightly nonetheless. And though Seto had been told by Atem _later_ , he couldn't help but notice that Atem's fingers were trembling as they curled into the back of Yuugi's coat.


	8. RESILIENCE.

**CHAPTER EIGHT: RESILIENCE.**

_“If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces."_

**Shane Koyczan.**

* * *

The situation was fairly bleak.

Yuugi was fairly certain Jounouchi had a broken wrist, but his friend was stubbornly denying it. Even Seto had offered to look at it, which was suspiciously kind of him; but Jounouchi had simply shrugged it off in favor of sitting in a corner, a makeshift sling supporting his right arm to appease Yuugi. Mokuba was sitting still as Seto gently pressed a gauze pad from a first aid kit unearthed from the wreckage of the helicopter against his forehead, eyes half-closed as he listened to his older brother ask a series of questions that he was putting minimal effort into answering. Yuugi had no idea how injured Seto was, other than the odd cringe as Seto straightened; he suspected his ribs were bruised or cracked, at minimum. Kisara was asleep in a corner of the cave, using Seto's coat as a blanket to keep warm. The woman had managed to maintain consciousness until Seto and Atem entered the cave, but had soon succumbed to sleep upon seeing they were safe.

And, at last, that left Atem.

The Pharaoh had taken up a spot near the entrance of the small cave, migrating away from the group once they had all exchanged their greetings and general pleasantries. Yuugi had allowed him his moment by himself while he checked on the rest of his friends, but once he had done so, Yuugi made his way toward the entrance with a bottle of water for them to share. He was limping; a twisted ankle, Yuugi was sure, and his head ached, but the pain soon subsided as he settled in to sit next to Atem, handing the bottle of water to the Pharaoh as he looked up at the sky.

"Thank you, aibou," Atem said after a moment, his eyes also on the sky, but he did not open the bottle of water. Not yet.

"You're welcome." It was said easily, and Yuugi averted his eyes from the darkening sky to glance toward Atem. The Pharaoh had made no real move to talk or drink the water provided, and Yuugi didn't feel inclined to press him to speak if he didn't want to. Instead, Yuugi shifted his eyes back to the sky, picking a topic that he was certain Atem would happily want to gossip about. "Kisara-san is staying at Kaiba Manor."

There was a pause before Atem took the bait, glancing toward Yuugi with arched eyebrows, impressed with the information. "Is she?"

"She is," Yuugi said mildly, stretching his legs out in front of him as he tilted his head back to resume looking at the sky. "Kaiba-kun volunteered; I didn't even have to ask. _And_ he started to teach her how to play duel monsters on the flight here." He would leave out the part about Jounouchi; it was unnecessary for the story, and Yuugi felt Jounouchi's pride had been injured enough. "I think he might have made a friend."

"A _friend_." Atem placed a particularly amused emphasis on the word, and finally, Yuugi saw that Atem opened the bottle of water out of the corner of his eye, taking a sip. "Anyone that can tolerate his attitude should be given an award." The Pharaoh cleared his throat before taking another drink of water, passing the bottle to Yuugi once he was done, so Yuugi could have a drink if he so chose. "She will be good for him," Aten continued, resting his elbows against his knees as he made himself comfortable. "He needs more kindness in his life."

"He does," Yuugi agreed, taking a drink from the bottle of water before placing it between them, so Atem could continue to drink from it if he so chose. But as the two sat in comfortable silence, Yuugi's mind began to wander, trying to figure out how to broach what neither of them were talking about. And, eventually, Yuugi settled on continuing the conversation about Kaiba Seto, using him as a vehicle to steer the talk. "He's missed you," Yuugi said after a moment, glancing toward Atem, lips pursing together into a small smile. "He won't say it, but he has."

"He has said it in his own way." What that meant, Yuugi had no idea, but Atem exhaled slowly, releasing some amount of tension from his shoulders. "I do not know why I am here, aibou." It was said quietly, and Atem turned to look at Yuugi properly, his eyes full of concern, of doubt. It wasn't often that Atem looked unsure of himself, but Yuugi was certain that he was one of the only people in existence that knew what an uncertain Atem looked like. "I am not supposed to be, and I -- " Atem paused before pursing his lips together into a frown, shaking his head slightly before returning his gaze to the sky. "There is something happening here that I do not understand, and I fear it is not over. That you are all in danger, by my being here."

"That might be true, but we aren't going to leave you here." And Yuugi leaned slightly, bumping his shoulder into Atem's own. The Pharaoh swayed slightly with the contact, but the touch brought a faint smile to Atem's expression. And before Atem could respond, Yuugi continued to speak. "Kaiba-kun and I both had dreams, two nights ago. They were both different, and they both were about you, and Kisara-san . . . and then, you both came back to us." 

That caught Atem's attention, and his brow furrowed slightly. "What dream?" Atem asked, his tone slightly curious.

"I had a dream that I was at the docks, and I heard your voice. You told me to talk to Kaiba-kun, and that he would know what it was about. So I did." Yuugi shrugged slightly. "Kaiba-kun had a dream, too, but his dream was in Egypt. Here." And Yuugi inclined his head toward the direction of the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. "But he heard Kisara-san's voice telling him that he needed to defend himself from his father . . . and you were in his dream, too." But Yuugi didn't offer much more detail, on that; he imagined Kaiba would rather be the one to talk to Atem about those details of his dream, and so he moved on. "The same night we had the dreams, a big electrical storm knocked out all the power in Domino City. And then, I found Kisara-san by the pier. So--"

"So then you came here," Atem finished Yuugi's sentence, his expression somewhat hard to read. 

Yuugi nodded in response before he continued, his tone relatively light, considering the topic. "There might be something at play that we don't understand, but we'll figure it out. We always do, right?"

"Right." But it was an uneasy agreement, and Atem seemed to allow Yuugi's statement to settle around his shoulders before he exhaled slowly. "The Tomb felt . . . " And Atem stopped himself, clearly uncomfortable with whatever he was about to say, but Yuugi was quiet, allowing him the space to figure it out before he continued speaking. "It was chaos," Atem continued finally, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "I felt trapped, like . . . I did. When I first awoke." It was awkwardly stated; not because Atem did not know exactly what to say, but because he was uncomfortable ever voicing weakness, particularly to Yuugi. "I thought all hope was lost, until I heard your voice."

Yuugi allowed the statement to hang in the air for a moment before he moved the water bottle out of the way, shifting to sit next to Atem properly so he could reach his arms around the Pharaoh, hugging him tightly. It was something he never had the opportunity to do, really, while they were together. Atem had been a spirit, and while touch wasn't necessarily impossible, it was different than a warm hug. And after a comforting squeeze, Yuugi released Atem to take the Pharaoh by the shoulders, ducking his head slightly to meet Atem's eyes, offering him a warm smile.

"You're never going back to that again," Yuugi said, and while it was an impossible promise to make, he sounded no less confident. "You're with us, now, and you aren't alone."

"I can see, you brought half of Domino City to this hellscape," Atem murmured, a half-hearted attempt at back-talk, but he sighed as Yuugi shook his shoulders slightly, in a silent scolding. "I know I am not alone, I know that," Atem said, but Yuugi could tell that he was saying it more for Yuugi's benefit than his own. "But I could not protect you from what happened, and I am afraid that I will not be able to protect all of you from what is to come," he continued, raising a hand to gesture outside, toward the vague direction that the wrecked helicopter was in. "What would you all have done had Kaiba not been there to fly the helicopter? Or--"

"But he _was_ here," Yuugi interrupted, shaking his head quickly to prevent Atem from going down that road. "And there was never going to be a doubt that he would be here, or any of us would be here, because we're all on the same team. We're in this together, and--"

"And I could do nothing to help," Atem said dully, averting his eyes back toward the sky, and Yuugi frowned at the statement. "I was useless, and I am not supposed to be, I am--"

"-- the all-powerful Pharaoh chosen to save the world from everything evil, I know," Yuugi said with a sigh, which earned something of a startled look from Atem, and Yuugi waved his hand. "I'm sorry, mou hitori no boku, but you need to stop thinking that all of this is on your shoulders. It isn't. When you fall, we're there to pick you up, and vice versa. You're not meant to do this alone. And it's not your job to protect me; we protect each other," Yuugi continued easily, and Atem sighed tiredly at the statement, almost as if he expected the response, but was not satisfied with it. "You're going to rest, recover. We're going to figure out how to get out of here, and we'll fight to stop this. Together." And Yuugi released Atem's shoulders before offering a hand, arching his eyebrows, almost challenging Atem to refuse him. "Deal?"

Atem eyed Yuugi's hand for a long moment before he exhaled in a faint laugh, reaching out to grip Yuugi's hand, shaking it once. The formality of the gesture felt ridiculous, considering who they were, but it had made Atem laugh, which felt worth it, to Yuugi. "Deal," Atem agreed, releasing Yuugi's hand, but quick to lean his shoulder against Yuugi's own once he resumed sitting next to Yuugi. "Together it is."

* * *

The sky outside was getting darker, and Seto's ribs were protesting more with each passing moment. But he couldn't sleep, so instead he chose to devote his time to worthier pursuits, like dismantling the emergency alert system that he found inside the helicopter in order to make it operational again. There were two emergency lanterns that lit up the cavern, and Seto had obtained one for his own uses; he couldn't make the radio work if he was unable to see.

Mokuba was asleep next to him, his head resting against Seto's leg as Seto removed the outer casing of the radio system to see what he was working with. He was fairly certain his younger brother had a sprained shoulder and a mild concussion, but there was nothing to be done for him now aside ensuring that he get some rest. Kisara, too, was asleep -- nearby, but not next to them. Close enough that Seto could touch her, but not close enough that they were touching. She seemed to be fine, all things considered; the Dragon likely protected her first, in the crash. A good sleep was probably all she needed.

"What're you doing?"

Seto's eyes flickered upward at Jounouchi, who was sitting directly across from them, nursing what was likely a broken wrist that he refused to have set aside from a loose sling wrapped around his shoulder. He considered ignoring Jounouchi's question, but ignoring him would likely just encourage Jounouchi to continue annoying him, and so Seto returned his attention to the radio, speaking evenly, "Attempting to boost the signal of the emergency alert system, to let someone know that we're here."

"You can do that?" Jounouchi asked, a bit incredulous -- but before Seto could answer, Jounouchi sighed with a roll of his eyes, letting his gaze wander toward the entrance of the cave. "Nevermind, of course you can, you're a freakish genius. Forget I asked."

"I will," Seto responded absently, pulling aside some wiring to begin properly dismantling the radio. "The helicopter itself sends out a signal on a constant basis . . . and even if it didn't, someone will notice it hasn't come back," Seto continued, narrowing his eyes at the mess of wiring to see what was connected to what. "My concern is figuring out where Isis Ishtar is."

"Shit," Jounouchi exhaled, resting his head back against the cave as Seto continued to work. "I forgot about that... why the hell would she tell us to come here? Especially if people were messing around with the Tomb?"

"She wouldn't, not unless she knew it was safe." Seto yanked out a wire, connecting it to a different port easily. "Something happened to her, or someone hacked her phone line and pretended to be her in order to lure me here." Seto found the former more forgivable than the latter; if Seto had been duped that easily, which was unforgivable. He had allowed his fixation on whether Atem was alive or not to cloud his judgment, which had landed them in this predicament. Had Seto kept his mouth shut about the dreams he had, Yuugi likely wouldn't have been convinced to come here. Now, they were trapped in some cavern in the midst of the Valley of the Kings, with whatever powers-that-be on the loose. And it was his fault, no matter what way Seto looked at it. "Either way, we need to leave," Seto said finally, flipping a switch on the radio to active the signal, fiddling a bit with the dials to see if he picked up anything. "Without dying. Preferably."

"Yeah, always a plus." Jounouchi sighed, his eyes shifting back to watching Seto fiddling with the radio, before he leaned forward slightly, watching Seto tinker with the radio. "Y'know, I think this is the longest conversation we've ever had."

"I'm known to do charity work from time to time." The response prompted a scowl from Jounouchi, and Seto felt satisfied in the boundary drawn before he adjusted a dial carefully, which prompted an odd beep from the device. A few more adjustments resulted in a sustained beeping noise, and Seto's lips twitched into a rare grin as he looked at the dismantled radio with satisfaction. "There."

"So people are gonna be able to find us now?" Jounouchi asked, arching his eyebrows as Seto set the dismantled radio on the ground, careful not to disturb the wires he had rerouted. "Like a distress signal?"

"Something like that." In reality, it was just broadcasting a simple location, but a distress signal was close enough. The battery life in the radio would last for at least twenty-four hours, which left Seto the room to finally relax his back against the wall of the cave, glancing toward Mokuba to ensure he was still asleep. "Someone will show up," Seto said after a moment, allowing his eyes to close, exhaling slowly. "Whether or not it will be to our benefit remains to be seen."

Jounouchi seemed about to respond when footsteps echoed near the entrance of the cave, and Seto opened his eyes again to see Atem and Yuugi moving their way slowly back to the group. Atem looked as if he still needed to rest, but he seemed to be a lot more aware than he had been when they left the helicopter, which was something of a relief. Yuugi was limping, which was more concerning, but neither Atem nor Yuugi seemed concerned. So Seto kept it to himself, instead watching the two sit down near Jounouchi, remaining silent.

"See anything?" Jounouchi asked, shifting over a bit to make room for Yuugi, who sat down with a sigh. "No Gods?"

"No Gods," Yuugi agreed, offering Jounouchi a faint smile before letting his gaze rest on the beeping radio, brow furrowing. "What's that?"

"A distress signal," Seto responded tiredly, allowing his eyes to close again now that he saw the conversation was not going to be fruitful or interesting. "To whoever might be looking for their stolen helicopter." And, before anyone else could say anything further, Seto continued, "Touch it and I will break your fingers."

"He's reached his quota for nice today," came Jounouchi's voice, which sounded a little less grating than usual. "He might start throwing stuff next."

* * *

Darkness fell over the desert, and Atem managed to get an hour or two of asleep. It was not restful, plagued by bizarre dreams and shadows in the dark . . . but soon, Atem stirred back to consciousness, blinking his eyes into focus as he took stock of his surroundings.

Most everyone seemed to be asleep. Jounouchi had found a comfortable corner of the cave, and Yuugi was asleep next to him, peaceful. Seto and Mokuba were on the opposite end of the cave, Seto having dozed off sitting up, and Mokuba's head against Seto's left leg. But as Atem stretched his legs and shifted to stand to get some air, he noticed that Kisara seemed to be missing. And, upon glancing toward the Kaiba brothers again, he noticed that Seto's coat was draped over Mokuba's still form--the same coat that had been draped over Kisara, earlier.

Still, Atem could feel her nearby. . . a powerful source of energy, near the entrance of the cave. And Atem got to his feet, a hand against the wall of the cave to catch his balance. He still felt exhausted, from the lengthy fight in the Tomb, but he felt much more himself. Much more alert, much more in control. And something compelled him to move toward the front of the cave, his footsteps quiet before the canyon came into view, and Kisara's brilliant white hair reflecting in the moon light.

It was easy to see how Seth had become captivated by her. She was different; not only in appearance, but in soul. She exuded a powerful calmness, a reassurance. And for the first time, Atem realized that he had never really had the opportunity to thank her for her sacrifice, not only for Egypt, but for him. For Seth, and the rest of the Court. 

"You cannot sleep?" Atem asked gently, and he offered Kisara a warm smile, holding up his hands as Kisara quickly spun to look at who had arrived. "It is only me, I am sorry if I--"

But Atem was interrupted as Kisara quickly got to her feet, bowing swiftly. And Atem stared, a bit incredulous at the action, before he suddenly remembered that he was dressed as the Pharaoh (sans the jewelry, as he had taken that off once they arrived in the cave) and that Kisara only knew him was the ruler of his Kingdom, not . . . well, whatever he was to Yuugi and their friends.

"My Pharaoh, I am sorry if I disturbed you," Kisara murmured, averting her eyes. "I only meant--"

"It is fine," Atem said quickly, reaching out to touch Kisara by the shoulder, offering a warm smile. "Please call me Atem, I am . . . you do not need to do that." It was something of an awkward introduction, but Kisara (thankfully) straightened at his touch, her eyes holding some level of confusion. "There is no such thing as royalty here," he continued, moving to sit on a nearby rock. "And even if there were, I would have no sway over it. There's no need for formality."

There was a silence before Kisara shifted to return to sit on her rock, and remained quiet for a long moment before she returned to looking at the stars. "You are kind," she said after a moment, glancing toward Atem with a faint smile. "Thank you."

"For being kind?" Atem asked, arching his eyebrows.

"For sitting with me." That made a bit more sense, but Atem said nothing as he watched Kisara make herself comfortable in sitting on the rock. She seemed to need the space to speak, and sure enough, once Atem had remained quiet for long enough: "None of this feels real."

"Indeed. It can be very overwhelming, to suddenly awake in a new world." It was a quiet agreement, as Atem watched the sky. It felt . . . open, expansive, and quelled his anxiety as the night sky welcomed them. It was free of darkness, of any wayward Gods . . . they were safe, for the time being. "You were fortunate, to find Yuugi," Atem added, a faint smile appearing on his features. "He is good at this; helping people navigate a new reality."

"I likely would have gotten into some trouble, had he not found me," Kisara admitted. "He did not hesitate, to offer me shelter, or to help me find my way."

"That sounds like Yuugi." Atem's tone was warm, and he looked over at Kisara, a smile appearing as Kisara met his eyes. "What did he tell you?"

"A lot," Kisara said with half a laugh, wrapping her arms around her middle as she shifted her weight to face Atem properly. "He and Anzu--"

"Anzu was with him?" The interruption wasn't necessary, but Atem was immediately interested, leaning forward with half a grin. It seemed ridiculous, to focus on such a stupid thing, but tormenting Yuugi about his love life (or lack thereof, which seemed to be more appropriate) was a past-time that Atem would never give up. "She helped, too?"

Kisara arched her eyebrows slightly at the question, but chose instead to answer the question asked, not the subtext beneath the words. "He called her to help me with clothes . . . but they both explained to me how they knew who I was. How they knew you." She glanced back toward the cave, her smile becoming a bit more somber. "Yuugi brought me to Seto the next day."

"Aah." There was a soft noise of appreciation, before Atem exhaled, watching Kisara thoughtfully. It was an interesting decision, for Yuugi to bring Kisara to Seto, but there had to be a reason why aside from the obvious. Yuugi wouldn't have put either of them in that situation had they both not agreed . . . which meant Yuugi had to have spoken to Seto prior to showing up at Kaiba Corporation with Kisara. He made a mental note to talk to Yuugi about it later, before he continued. "You seem conflicted," Atem said after a moment, tilting his head slightly toward the cave, but his eyes still trained on Kisara. It was an invitation to talk, if Kisara wanted to take it.

"Were you not?" Kisara asked, shifting her gaze toward Atem, her lips pursed together in a frown. " _Are_ you not?"

It was a good question, and one that Atem hadn't really given himself the time to consider now that his memories were complete. And he thought about it for a moment before he shrugged a shoulder, glancing back toward the cave. "I was without my memories for a time, when I first awoke, when Yuugi first found me. And so I grew to know Kaiba Seto, without knowing anything else. We became friends." It was a term that he was certain Seto would use loosely, but it made it no less true. "Now, I remember. And I know that Kaiba remembers some things, too, but he would say that he is a different person. That they are not the same."

"And what do you believe?" Kisara asked, her tone quiet.

"I am not sure." It was an honest response, but one that Atem knew was not particularly satisfying. Still, Atem offered Kisara a warm smile, though his eyes held some measure of sympathy. "Kaiba Seto has lived a life, before his memories began to awaken. He has experiences Seth did not have. But the best parts of Seth are present in Kaiba Seto."

It felt weird, to say so, but it was no less true. Kaiba was compassionate and driven, and when he loved, he loved deeply. He would sacrifice himself to save the people he cared about without a second thought. And he had proven himself, time and time again, to be a partner that could be counted on. Whenever Atem's faith in himself faltered, Kaiba was one of the first who was there to snap him back into reality. He had done so in Battle City, in the Virtual World . . . and again, when they battled Dartz. No matter what odds were stacked against them, Kaiba Seto had an unwavering belief that, _together_ , they could conquer whatever was set before them. 

He was lost in thought for a moment, but Kisara's voice brought up back to the present.

"What does he remember?"

"Of our time?" Atem asked to clarify, and when Kisara nodded, Atem exhaled, his cheeks puffing out slightly as the breath escaped between his teeth. "It is hard to say. He knows all that happened, but much of that may be from experience, rather than memory . . . but I do know that he remembers you." Or, at least, Atem could make a fairly educated guess, that Seto remembered Kisara. "He may never achieve full remembrance, of our time," he continued, his eyes scanning the stars again. "But who he is now is worth knowing, and defending, and caring about. Though he will resist it," Atem added, tossing Kisara a slight grin, which she returned with half a laugh. "You will need to be more stubborn than he is."

"Is that what you did?" Kisara asked, faintly amused. "Persist?"

"Kaiba Seto does not give up, but he does begrudgingly accept the inevitable," Atem said knowingly, resting his elbows on his knees. "And once he did that, we became friends. But it was not always that way." 

There was a time where Seto viewed Yuugi and Atem as someone to be opposed, rather than someone to work _with_. And it had taken a long time, for Seto's walls to crack _just_ enough to accept that together, they were a force to be reckoned with. But once Seto had allowed it, they had become a powerful team. Then, Atem had not been entirely sure what it was, that allowed Seto and himself to operate in such fluidity with one another . . . now, Atem knew that the reason why he and Seto made such an excellent team was because they been one three thousand years in the past.

"At any rate, you are not alone, in navigating this," Atem continued, his tone shifting from knowing to confident, pushing himself up to slide off of the rock he was seated on to stand, turning toward Kisara with a smile. "I can help, to whatever extent that I can."

There was a long moment where Kisara simply _watched_ Atem, her pale eyes searching his face for . . . what, Atem was not entirely sure. A sign of trust, or a signal that Atem was not telling the truth? Or simply trying to gauge Atem as a person . . . whatever it was, Atem did not have the opportunity to know. As Kisara opened her mouth to respond, a different voice emanated from the cavern entrance, a curt:

"Sorry to interrupt."

Kisara and Atem both looked over to see Seto standing in the entranceway of the cavern, an arm looped around his middle. He looked tired, but alert; much the same as the rest of them, Atem thought to himself. And Atem glanced toward Kisara before taking half a step forward, crossing his own arms over his chest. "Did we wake you?" he asked.

"I am sorry, Seto, I needed fresh air," Kisara said quietly, taking a few steps forward to stand next to Atem, her expression concerned at the sight of Seto holding his side. "Are you feeling well?"

"Good question," Atem murmured under his breath to Kisara, his eyes still focused on Seto, his brow furrowing as he looked the duelist up and down. "You should likely be resting, instead of--"

"I didn't come out here to be analyzed by two people who are from three thousand years ago and also aren't doctors," Seto interrupted flatly, looking annoyed with the perceived badgering. "And you don't have to apologize for coming outside, I don't have any control over what you do," he added to Kisara, though her his tone was noticeably less sharp than the insult that had followed. "I came out here because you're both needed, and the other three are more injured than I am," Seto continued, annoyed as he turned back toward the cave to move inside.

Kisara seemed to hesitate, glancing toward Atem with a silent _what should we do?_ attached to the look . . . to which Atem responded with a shrug. Kisara pursed her lips together before moving toward the entrance of the cave, following after Seto silently, which left Atem the opportunity to roll his eyes slightly to the sky, to ask for patience from some being that granted it, before quickly catching up with Kisara, landing in step with Seto. "Needed for what?" Atem asked. "What happened?"

"The radio picked up a signal," came the even response. "Someone knows where we are."


End file.
